The Monster Within You
by XoThatCrazyChickoX
Summary: Everyone in Seaford loved Halloween. Oddly but surely, they really did. But nobody knew that the long lost and almost completely forgotten past of their beloved town would resurface. No one knew what that night was going to turn into. Everything was bound to burst at some point, all that was needed was just one more move...
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! I'm Alex**

**So, I'm pretty new to this whole thing, I'm not even sure if should continue or not. It's the very first time i write a multi-chapter story...or even an actual story for that matter...It's just that, the idea came to me all of a sudden and I just couldn't live in peace again 'till i posted it. So i'm sorry if it's not good, keep in mind that i've never done this before. I appreciate cunstructive critizism but no flames please.**

**So please, tell me if i should continue or just stop and pretend that such a thing never happened. Lol, no seriously, even if you say that this sucks, sure i'll be a bit disappointed, but it's nothing that a couple of hours at the skatepark can't cure.**

**Well, here goes nothing. Hope you enjoy and please review!**

**Desclaimer: I don't own Kickin'it, but a girl can dream right?**

Chapter 1

31st of October. Halloween. That particular festival all kids in Seaford, included teenagers, awaited the whole year.

Walking down the streets of Seaford on the night of Halloween you could see groups of hyper kids crusing down the neighborhood eager to get more candy, the occasional sound of music blasting from a house alerting you of a party going on full blast and on the very streets, see various posters on the poles and railings of different monsters. But you only fully got the Halloween vibe once you reached the center of it all. The park.

A huge banner adorned the entrance of the park with "Halloween Bash" written in big bold letters.

"I was working in the cab late one night when my eyes beheld and eerie sight for my monster from his slab began to rise and suddenly to my surprise..."

Screams of delight and fright filled the air along with laughter but among all this the lyrics of the songs still maneged to make themselves hear loud and clear. Everybody was screaming out the lyrics of 'Monster Mash' regardless of what they were currently doing. You would see people singing along while stuffing their faces with the bright orange colored sweets or even the little kids blurting out that least of the words they knew while chasing eachother.

You could clearly tell that Seaford, ableit being a small town, planned it's Halloween very thoughly.

Everybody was enjoying themselves on this night, it has been like this for a whole centuary now. After a long period of time filled with utter terror, darkness and bad luck. They thought their ancestors had taken care of everything and they had nothing to worry about. I mean, all was fine so why would it just change all of a sudden?

They thought that they would forever live in peace and go crazy on this night just for the fun of it, all like they always did and always will. But they seemed to forget that they were not the only ones who knew how to go crazy.

You see, no matter how beautiful and friendly Seaford seemed, the whole town was closed down with brick walls around it and a huge whirlwind just outside, waiting for the damned walls to break down so it could finally sweep into the town. After so long,

But they didn't know it. They thought they had no more boundries. None of them knew that everything was finally going to burst. None of them was aware of all the hell that was about to break lose. Everything they thought they had thrown in the air, never to see it _ever_ again, was actually just there bottled up with everything else and waiting to come out at the right moment.

_That_ night was the right moment. Just one more move, the right move, and the whirlwind begins.

**There it is! So once again, please review and tell me if i should go on.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! So i decided to continue this since you wanted me to. Thank you so much for the encouraging reviews, the favs and the follows. You are the best!**

**Also, i think this is the longest chapter i'll ever write.**

**Enjoy!**

**Desclaimer: I don't own Kickin it.**

Despite almost being in November, the air was fairly warm. It wasn't the usual chilly one that sent shivers down your spine. Not at all. It was was cozy and the whole atmosphere made you feel at home. Like this town was what you've been searching your whole life. A place where could always be comfortable. The ideal place where everyone knew and treated eachother like siblings. The place where you would never feel left out. The place where you belonged.

This was the vibe that radiated off of Seaford everyday. This was the feeling everyone got.

It was almost 11 pm and people were still scattered everywhere talking, dancing to the music and the adults more than once felt the little kids colliding into them in their desperate attempts to move past the huddles they formed. Everyone could clearly tell that their kids were just trying to avoid them as much as possible because they knew their parents would make them stop doing whatever it was that they were doing, and then they would be stuck all night by their parents' side and knew all to well that they could kiss their fun goodbye.

But the parents had no such intentions, maybe because they too were having so much fun, or maybe because they didn't have the heart to ruin their kids' night yet again. But that didn't mean that the little one's didn't feel the occasional stare lingering on them

Christmas lights were wrapped around the tree branches, little hand-crafted pumpkins and bats hung off them. Almost every tree in sight was decorated, half of the light in the park was shining from the very trees.

Under a tree, huddled together, in a calm spot quite far from all the commotion, were four people. Two women and two men. One of the ladies had blonde hair and doe brown eyes that shone brightly when the light hit them. Those eyes had that sparkle in them, that represented the everlasting youth in the woman. She was very fierce and the look in her eyes, that almost always seemed to have their own smirk, told it all. She was wearing a black and white striped, 3/4 sleeved long shirt that reached her mid-tighs, black skinny jeans and knee length boots. Her hair was left down, in natural curls.

The other lady had jet-black hair and blueish-greenish eyes. Anyone could tell that she was pretty lad back. Her eyes, albeit having the sparkle in them, didn't give off the feeling of a rush. She seemed to love her life but she wasn't running on adrenaline like the other was. She was more baised. She was one of those people who could give off a smile that seemed to be able to fix anything

She was wearing and bright orange, sleeveless, knee length dress with a sweetheart neckline. Her feet were claid in black wedges and her hair was in an elegant bun.

One of the men was a brunette while the other had jet-black hair too. They both had a cool vibe radiating off of them but the brunette had a welcoming and friendly smile on his face most of the time, while the other had a smirk that adorned his lips along with a look of playfulness on his features.

They both were wearing black dress shirts and black skinny jeans. Vans and Converse to top it off.

All four of them were just talking about anything and everything, just enjoying eachother's company, completely comfortable with one another. Both the man had their arm around their woman's waist.

The blonde was Natalie.

The black headed woman was Cecilia.

The brunette was Chase.

The black headed man was Ricardo.

Natalie Crawford was leaning against her husband, Chase Crawford and Cecilia Martinez was leaning against her husband Ricardo Martinez.

The four were so absorbed in their conversation that they didn't notice their four kids running off, but that had been like 4 or 3 hours ago.

The Crawford's and the Martinez's had two kids each who were currently somewhere in the park doing who knows what. It's not like they didn't care enough to keep a close eye on them, no, they loved their children. It was just that every single time they would just sneak off and their parents knew better that to keep calling out for them. In the kids' words "They _finally _learned that it's usless", because it was. Besides, their kids knew Seaford like the back of their hands, just like everybody else, so what's the worst that could happen?

But was it normal that, most of the time, they were more worried about their _older _kids instead of the younger ones?

* * *

Meanwhile, near the very back of the park where the Woods started, completely isolated from party still going on full blast, were two kids. Even though they'll kill you if you still reffer to them as 'kids'. In their defence: "Come on! I just turned _13 _for Pete's sake!"

So, yeah...

They were just sitting there leaning against the trunk of a huge tree, admiring the star filled sky that was above them while making small talk.

The moon in the cloudless sky casted a pale light on the part of the park that all those artificial ligths couldn't reach. Honestly, this was more pleasant than almost being blinded from all the lights that shone right into your eyes.

The music that was blaring through the speakers, deafening there, was only a very faint background music here.

The sound of the leaves swaying to the gentle breeze was the only one clearly audible and it was rather relaxing.

The two sat there, their lips barely moving from the mumbled words that barely left their mouths. The girl was leaning against the boy with her head on his shoulder and his arm arond her waist.

The girl was wearing a dark grey cardigan with a pink tank top under it, black leggings and Chuck Taylor's. Her hair was left down in natural curls. Her doe brown eyes were almost Always feriey. She was a very active girl, always looking for new adventures but ending up in trouble most of the time. She was tough and no one could deny it. You really didn't want to mess with her and get on her bad side but if you did, expect frowns sent your way and you being showered by pranks.

Sarcasm was her second Language and cunning was her mind.

But she also had the sweetest smile you would ever see, the smile that would grace her lips whenever she was happy. She was just like her mother.

But she wasn't the only one. She was only half of it.

The boy was wearing a black printed shirt under a black button up, black skinny jeans and orange skytops. (**Anyone who can guess where i got their outfits from will get a shoutout in the next chapter!). **His raven black hair was slightly spiked up. His dark brown eyes were usually filled with mischief and playfulness. His signature smirk was unmistakable. He was the prank-master, the girl was his side-kick during his famous pranks, half of them being thought up on her own.

Like the girl, he was never still, Always running around and never missing a chance to get in trouble. But he knew how to be caring, though he never thought straight before reacting. He was impulsive but luckily the girl usually talked some sense into him when it was too much. He was just like his father.

And he was the other half.

Together they were known as The Troublemakers. And they were damn proud of it.

Kim Crawford sighed as she closed her eyes for a moment, Jerry Martinez shifted his gaze from the sky and stared ahead of him with distant eyes.

Moments like these rarely happned but when they did, they lasted long enough. Moments where it was just the two of them, away form the rest of the world, not planning new original pranks but just sitting there in peace and forget who they were for a while. Just letting their mouths talk on their own, blurting out anything and everything. They didn't care about what the heck they were talking about. They just wanted their break, their well deserved break, where they could tune everything else out besides eachother.

Kim and Jerry have been best friends since they were in the box, because their parents knew eachoter long before that. They grew up doing everything together. They were the same, same personality, same passions, same crazy mind...

For this, despite their diffrence apperenace-wise, people called them The Twins.

The Twins and The Troublemakers were the two names they were labaled as but the most used one was the first.

"The Twins hit again", "Hey! Get those Twins!" Were the primal example of how the citizens of Seaford reacted to their playfulness.

They didn't have any problem being called that, they loved it. It just showed more how much they meant to eachother and their connection was unique.

Luckily though, there weren't _actual _twins in Seaford so nothing could be misunderstood...well, there _still _weren't any twins.

The now overwhealming silence was too much for Jerry as he came up with an idea

"Hey Kim, wanna go into the Woods?" His voice sliced trough the silence like a knife and it was so sudden it sartled Kim a bit.

She lifted her head form his shoulder to look up at him and then smiled, though it quickly turned into a smirk after seeing one on her best friend's face.

"Sure" she responded. With that they both got up on their feet and began making their way into their beloved Woods.

It wasn't the first time they ventured in these Woods. They loved walking around the infinite trees in the middle of the night. It was very thrilling and it gave them that feeling of a ruch cursing through them whenever they heard some kind of noise. Running around the trees, jumping over fallen branches and various trunks here and there, the feeling of the cool air hiiting them square in the face while also feeling branches and such scraping and rashing their skin and then occasionaly tripping but laughing it off, all in the middle of the night, was their thing.

They would walk around while telling scary stories, trying to scare the other but only succeeding in making them throw in any kind of comments wich lead the other to just give up.

They had been walking for about 15 minuites now just talking about what they thought the Others were doing. They had lost track of Jace and Andrè, their little brothers, when they all seperated at the beginning of the party but it didn't take a Genius to figure out what they were up tp. Gooffing off, obiously.

Kim suddenly broke out into a sprint, Jerry followed and it soon turned into a race with no paritcular target to reach

* * *

"Okay, okay fine! I call truce" Kim said in between pants. They had been running full speed and now they just had to stop before they both passed out.

"Wich means i win" Jerry replied, smirking

"What? It does not! Calling truce means no one won, they just surrender" recoiled Kim

"Yeah, but only you called truce, not me. Therefor, I WIN" exclaimed Jerry with his wierd way of thinking, wich only aggravated Kim more.

She sighed, deciding that right now she didn't want ot deal with it, considering she was tired out, so for now she gave him all the glory.

"Fine...but i'm not done with it" Jerry gulped. He knew perfectly what this meant. It meant that now he had a very detemined and angry Kim coming at him full force just to prove a point.

_"Shit, i should've just kept my mouth shut. Really Jerry, really? Now you have a pissed off Kim charging at you. Maybe not now, but brace yourself" _Jerry thought to himself

Kim was a black belt and everyone knew not to mess with her. Jerry thought that having a black belt as a best friend was Amazing, beacuse more than once it has come in handy, but it also had it's cons, like having first class punches being thrown at him.

When everything wuited down, Kim and Jerry observed their surrounding clearly for the first time after exiting the wood.

They were facing a very large back yard with a not-too-high railing surrounding it. They didn't need to walk around the building and face the front to know where they were. They were currently facing the back yard of the largest mansion there was in Seaford.

The masion was very old, it has been biult cetuaries ago and, surprisingly yet not-so-surprisingly, it was still standing there in all its might.

The guys walked around it so they were standing before the grand entrance. They both shared a look and seemed to read eachother's mind, pondering on wether or not to go in there. Kim and Jerry both knew what the other secretly wanted and there was no point in hiding it. Many many times have the adults said "Their adveturous spirit will be the _end _of them" and only this time The Twins seemed to consider it.

But no matter how much they tried to convince themselves, their hearts just wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. So after sorting it all out, they turrned to face the gigantic building before them and took the 10 dreadful steps that led them trough the main entrace. This was it. There was no going back. Here's another thing about Kim and Jerry, when they start something, backing down is _not _an option anymore.

There, before them, was a very large courtyard. On the other side of it was the main part of the mansion because the two other sides of the courtyard were surrrounded by long hallways connected by one end to the main central part, and the other end to the wall that had the large doorway they just passed trough.

About 8 columns on each open side of the hallway that lead to the courtyard were supprting the cieling. The light of the full moon made it easier to see, wich they were grateful for.

The part of building they were facing, the central one, was three storied and had two galleries on the two stories that ran along the whole lenght of it with big multiple arched hollows in the walls facing the courtyard. The kast story, the one on the top, was left open, it was just a large empty space. The courtyard was scattered with pots.

The building in it's whole gave off a feeling of uneasiness, as it was a further warning for Kim and Jerry not to go in there, if the rather creepy appereance of it didn't already convince them.

But they had their minds set. No going back.

Jerry grabbed Kim's hand, gave it a gentle squeeze and began to lead her across the courtyard and into the mansion. That was it. They're in _there. _They had heard multiple stories on this mansion and here they were about to take a personal look at it all.

They walked up the steps of the porch and pushed the door open. To say they were surprised to find the door open was an understimatment. They didn't _actually _expect the door to be open **(I used the word 'open' three times already...). **They tought they had to break in somehow.

After just shrugging it off, the went inside. They stopped, looking at their surroundings. Old styled couches, chairs and tables were scattered around the huge living room with a glass candelier hanging from the very high ceiling. On their left there was a canopy bed but with blankets. In the very back, on the left side there was a staircase. They started toward it, walking past the dust covered furniture, some of it also covered with worn out smelly blankets.

They walked up the staircase and walked down the hall, that ran along all four sides of the living room. There were multiple doors along the way but just continued walking. Jerry took a sudden right turn, while still holding Kim's hand wich caused her to jerk in his direction, collding into his back.

Both muttering a sorry, they looked behind them and found that they were on the opposite side of the front door. Kim turned around and saw a series of small connected rooms with no doors but just a very big arched hollow in the walls. The last room lead them to giant hallway. Another candelier hung above them. Jerry turned his head to his right side and saw the courtyard below. The whole right side was open with columns supporting the ceiling. Continuing forward, Kim noticed a small and narrow staircase and this time she jerked toward it, making Jerry lose balance. The sudden turn caused his shoes to squeek against the Marble pavement, the sound echoing trough the hall briefly before fading away quickly. Jerry glared at her, but she chose to ignore it, smirking to herself.

They walked up the stairs until they were facing a door. But this one was different. _Very _different. A thick red rope hung in front of it and a big and heavy lock was on the handle. A red string was wrapped around it. The Twins glanced at eachother and Kim grabbed a bobby pin from her hair and attempted to prick the lock. You'd think they would have second thoughts on what they were about to do, huh? No, it was too late to think about it again. The Twins were in full action and nothing can stop them.

Jerry watched Kim anxiously, as she tried to prick the lock, and just as he was about to say 'stop', even though he didn't want to, the sound of a 'click' made him shut his mouth. Kim turned her head to look at him, almost as if she sensed what was about to leave his lips and smirked, now bragging inwardly.

They ducked under the rope only to find _another _staircase in front of them.

"Oh God, serioulsy?" "You gotta be kidding me?" Kim and Jerry exclaimed at the same time, now getting exasperated.

They walked up them and entered another hall. The walked to the railing and looking down they realized they were on the third story of the building. The hallway circled the courtyard again. Jerry took intrest on the door on the opposite side of him, and dragged Kim toward it. There was another lock and Kim took no time in pricking it again. It was kind of amusing though, such big locks being won over by a stick. They opened the door and coughed as the dust rose in the air, blinding them for a moment.

They once again ducked under the rope and gasped at what they saw. It was probably the most decorated room thet had seen since they got here.

The moonlight was seeping through the window in their right. Various paintings adorned the walls, all the furniture was covered in a thick layer of dust, The walls had an atzec pattern on them. Kim and Jerry started roaming around the room, the couches smelled of pure mold, Kim looked into what she supposed was a mirror but it's partially crusted surface made it a bit hard to make it out.

A sudden thump made them jump five feet in the air and they snapped their heads towards the sound only to find an old vase laying on the carpeted floor.

They brushed it off, but not before gulping down the forming lump their thoaths. All the rumors they had heard on this building started bouncing in their heads all at once.

They kept walking, occasionally coughing from the dust still lingering in the air, 'till they turned to the left and stopped.

An even larger room opened up before them, a huge glass candelier hung from the cieling, with little ornaments on the floor benanth it, probably fallen from it. The paintings rapresented who they knew to be their ancient kings. They were rapresented in typical situations, like just sitting on their Thorne or being with Others. The surface of the painting was scratched and worn out but they could still see the faces.

KIm walked over to a vanity and saw ancient indian style jewllery on the desk. She went to pick up a necklace but a movement on the desk sartled her, causing her to knock over a framed picture, making the glass shatter to the ground. She looked down for a moment before looking back at the necklace. She picked it up and stared in the mirror, holding the necklace up to her meck. She smiled while staring at her reflaction.

Meanwhile, Jerry was looking intensely at a picture of a king. Not just any king, but the last one to reign. He furrowed his eyebrows _"What was the dude's name?_ _Sanders_,_ something like that..." _Jerry thought.

Kim saw another painting trough her reflection, one that her eye immediatly. It was very large and it portrayed a lady. Kim turned around and went over to it with Jerry following.

The lady was wearing a tradional indian sari. It was red and Yellow with what seemed to be White diamonds on the sleeves. She held her arms in front of her with her hands folded inwards a little. Her nails were Painted red with tradional mendhi on her hands. On her hair was a Chandra, a moon shaped hair ornament, and on her forehead was jumka, an earring with upward extension, and a bindhi, a decorative red mark. One ankle was folded on the other, with ghungroos on them, musical anklets with metallic bells on them. She was also wearing the same necklace Kim still held in her hand. Lastly, an almost mistyrious smile graced her blood red lips. **(The reason i know this much about the attire is because a good friend of mine is infact indian and she helped with this when i told her about my idea. Thanks Aarti!)**

Jerry and Kim were in a daze, just staring at the painting for who-knows-how-long.

But the tinkling of something snapped them out of it. They looked around, thinking they just imagined it until they heard it again. They snapped their heads at eachother, eyes wide, for the first time truly scared.

"J-Jerry...w-what was t-that?" Kim stuttered. Any other time Jerry would've teased her for being afraid, but right now wasn't the moment, especially since he was starting to sweat too.

"I-I don't know, really" he replied, fear evident in his voice. What was happening? They hadn't been this scared when they heard the rattling of a mouse. So why was a simple tinkling noise freaking them out?

Guess those rumors were finally creeping up their spines.

*_tinkle, tinkle_* this time closer. Kim started freaking out badly, so she grabbed Jerry's arm and dragged him back to the door.

*_tinkle, tinkle* _even closer than before, this time they could feel another presence in the air right next to them. Jerry grabbed Kim's hand and ducked under the red rope and brought Kim out too. They made a mad dash down the hall, not knowing where was door with that staircase. The tinkling was following them. Jerry took the lead and desperatly tried to lose it while running back and forth, dragging Kim along, who did nothing but follow, too freaked out to think straight. While running, Jerry opened various doors to find the stairs and when he finally did, he hurried Kim down them first, still thinking of her as a priority. He shut the door behind him and the Twins both dashed down the stairs, passing the other rope too. When they returned to the hallway with the columns, they realised the breath the didn't realize they were holding in. But they both took a sharp breath in when they heard that damn tinkling once again, this time louder and faster, as if mocking them of their failed attempt to escape it.

Kim and Jerry paled visibly, and they both gulped. They reced down the hallway where they saw a swing chair. It was still but then it came flying at them. Kim screamed and Jerry pushed the both of them down just on time. They scrambled back up and strated down the staircase that lead them to the living room downstairs. Kim suddenly didn't feel Jerry grip on her hand anymore and looked to her side to find him still there. Tha last thing she wanted was he best friend to get locked up in this hell hole. She turned towards the front droor when she heard "KIM!"

She whipped around and her eyes grew wide as sausers at what she saw. Jerry had stopped running and was struggling to get to lose from an invisible source. But was that growling she was hearing? Jerry must have heard it too because he immediatly screamed: "Kim, get your butt outta here RIGHT NOW!"

"What?! Are you frickin' crazy?! No way i'm leaving you alone here with..._that_" When Jerry let out a small yelp, Kim knew she just aggravated things more. She looked at him trying to find a way to get him free. She suddenly charged forward, ready to attack the thing but all she did was crash into a chair, knocking both of them down. She stared up at Jerry in confusion only to find a matching expression on his face too.

"Kim, please just run, it-gasp-_they _already have me and it should be enough. Please Kim just leave, I'll be fine" Jerry pleaded, trying desperatly to at least safe the life of his best friend. By this point, Kim had tears in her eyes, not wanting to let go.

But she didn't have a choice. Some unknown force started pushing her out, with her struggling with everything she had. Jerry stood there hopelessly watching, still unable to do anything. It broke his heart to see Kim like that, just as Kim's heart broke seeing Jerry like that.

With one final scream Kim was out the front door, but just before it closed, "I LOVE YOU JER!" resonated through the courtyard. Jerry screamed back at her "I LOVE YOU TOO KIMMY! Never forget it" His voice faded away as the front door slammed shut.

Kim dropped to her knees, finally realising a sob, then another, and another one. Finally, she did the only other thing that was left for her to do. She screamed.

* * *

Back at the party, everything suddenly got quiet. The air became chilly, it formed Goosebumps all over. Everyone looked at eachother, the only sounds being the blowing wind and the creepy music that still played from the speakers. The axienty of what was about to come next was heavily present in air. The rising force of the wind sent the banner Flying away, and for the fisrt time in Seaford, no one knew what to do.

No one knew who to talk to.

No one knew who to go to.

No one knew what happned. Or what was happening.

The wind wheezed past them, becoming stronger and stronger.

* * *

**That was it people! I spent two days writing this and i hope you liked it! Review please!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys, i'm back! Thanks for your reviews, fav and follows, they mean a lot :)**

**And in return i bring you chpater 3! Hope you enjoy.**

**Desclaimer: I don't own Kickin it **

_7 years later_

The sun rays streamed through the window, dimly illuminating the previoulsy dark room, a gentle summer breeze blew in from the slightly open shutters, blowing apart the red coloured curtains.

The light slowly hit every part of the room, spreading from the floor to the door across from the window, to the Whole left side of the room, shining over the closet door, vanity, beanbag chairs and the desk. The desk was littered with crumpled sheets of paper, various pens and pencils, eraser dust and in the middle sat a Mac Book Pro puggled into the charger with White earbuds resting on it and two fat books beside it

A pair of jeans was carelessly thrown over the back of the blue spinning chair and a bra was laying on the seat. The closet door was wide open, showing the wal-in-closet with all kinds of shoes scattered on the floor.

The sun finally hit the king sized bed on the right side of the room, where a figure was sleeping peacefully, curled up in the blankets with their head buried in the pillow. Clearly, the sunlight wasn't a problem at all. The light sound of snoring filled the room once again. The only sound barely audible.

But Manhattan's busy streets decided to intervene. The sound of multiple cars passing down on the road quickly reached the ears of the person, causing them to let out a muffled groan, clearly stating their annoyance. They rolled over on their back (the previous position being face down on the matress), letting out a deep breath.

Long blonde locks spread over the pillow as the Young woman tried to drift off again, wanting to spend her long awaited Sunday morning doing what she craved the most.

But once again, her surrounding had other plans; her alarm clock felt the need to join in on the orchestra going on full blast uutside, announcing it's presence with an ear-piercing drin. The blonde snapped her eyes open, scared out of her mind, and quickly reached over knocking the source of the sound to the ground, effectively shutting it up. She reluctantly sat up, letting out a loud yawn and wiping the sleep from her eyes before staring down at the demon that took the ultimate step to wake her up. Cursing softly, she got off the bed and went into the bathroom.

You'd think she would be used to it after living for seven years in New York but no, she was never a morning person to begin with, and being woken up everyday by the ruthless sound coming from outside only worsened her mood. The very first day she woke up to a very loud car honk would Always be memorable to her

Why _should _she wake up feeling lively anyway? It was the same exact routine everyday with nothing new to expect: wake up, have a shower, brush her theeth, get dressed, have breakfast (occasionally), go to school (college in her case now), return home, have a quick lunch, off to work for 3 hours, come back home only to start studying restlessly untl she passes out. Many times now has she woken up realising she fell asleep on her chair behind the desk.

Sunday was the only day in the entire week where she could actually breath and not pant. Besides, Sundays actually held something she could look forward too. The Whole afternoon was spent with her family and she was never disappointed.

Kim looked at her reflection in the mirror after taking a shower. Her facial features matured but Always making her seem like her 13-year-old-self. Nothing in her physical appereance changed that much, really, just the common things that develope in a person's body. The major defference though, to anyone who knew her when she was little, was her eyes. They weren't lively anymore, they seemed monotone, just like the Whole environment around her. The gleaming spark in them had faded and was replaced by a totally dull shade of brown. It was obvious to anyone that this woman had no faith in life, she was just working hard to get, to at least be able to stand up on her own. She was like a robot, working with no real intention, just doing whatever she had her hands on. There was no emotion, she seemed cold.

She _felt _empty. The only feeling she has ever had in long while. And it never seemed to go away. She's grwon used to it now, not really caring but seeing the effects it had on the people who cared about her. The ones she was getting ready to see again after a long, stressfull week.

* * *

Kim walked out of her apartment and after locking the door she headed to the elevator. She pressed the '0' button and leaned against the wall behind her. She was wearing White shorts, an off the shoulder see-through top with a white tank top under it and white Converse. Hanging from her neck was a simple silver necklace with a heart charm, something she never took off.

As the elevator doors opened, she felt someone's eyes on her and turned around catching Mike's gaze. Mike was the receptionist and was 25 years old. He and Kim got along well and he Always watched out for her, hence Always asking her if she was alright. Initially he did it constantly but then finally learned that this was Kim's way of living and he could do nothing but get along with it.

Mike smiled at her and and kim nodded back before exiting the complex. Mike sighed, longing for the day Kim would finally smile to the world

Outside, Kim got in her black BMW and drove to the outskirts of Manhattan, away from the noise, the worry and the city altogether.

* * *

Natalie rolled her eyes as yet another yell came from the living room where her husband was currenltly watching a soccer match **(Sorry guys, couldn't resist, I play soccer myself :P),**

"Come on man, move those legs! Yes, yes, no, yes, come on almost there..." Chase screamed at the TV, anticipation winning him over.

Natalie braced herself, "YES!" Chase jumped off the couch and hugged Natalie as she exited the kitchen, a giddy grin on his face as he set his wife down,

"God Chase, take it down a notch would ya?" Natalie rose an eyebrow

"Natalie you know how i get when i watch a soccer match" Chase replied

"Yeah, and i also know that you put on your 'crying boots' whenever your favourite team doesn't win" smirked Natalie. When Chase just glared at her she knew it was game over. She laughed it off as her son appeared on the doorway

"Hey mom, where's my varsity jacket?" Jace asked once he entered the living room

"Oh it's in the basement" with that Jace walked off

_*Ding dong*_

"I'll get it!" Jace yelled as he ran to the front door, jacket forgotten. because he knew who it was

"Kam!" Kim didn't even have the chance to say 'hi' as her 15 year old Brother engulfed her in a bear hug. Kim allowed a smile to finally strech on her lips as she hugged Jace back with equal strenght.

Her parents came into view and immediatly grinned at the sight of Kim. When Jace finally allowed her to break free, she moved onto her parents, greeting them with a hug as well. They missed Kim so much during the week and they couldn't be happier when they saw her on Sunday.

"Hey guys, what's up" Kim asked once they all finished hugging. Only with her family would Kim show off her smile. This was the only place where she felt like opening up, the only place where she felt safe and happy. Well, almost happy.

"Kam, i've been waiting for you, so would you like to go to the fair a few blocks from here?" Jace asked her, more like pleaded though, given the look he was giving her. Jace had Always called Kim 'Kam' and she was used to it coming from him and niether of them grew out of it. It all started when she was 10 and he was 5 and he saw her dressed as guy (for reasons Kim still isn't comfortable explaining) and the Kam naturally came to him. Kim thought it was cool and just went with it. Now 10 years later it's still there.

Kim looked into his pleading cider eyes and seeing nothing but hope in them she sighed and smiled at him

"Sure thing kiddo, come on, but first..." Kim trailed off, looking down, "Dude, put some pants on!" Jace lokked down and realised he was still in his boxers and instead of blushing, he just gave off a cheeky grin before dashing upstairs.

Jace cheered silently when he reached his room, happy that he finally got his dear sister do have some fun

* * *

Walking back home, the siblings were both laughing their asses off.

"Oh my gosh, did you see that? Ha, she lost her _heel _and it landed in the baby's lap in the stroller. Thank god it didn't hurt him though!" Kim said, gasping for air

"I know! I mean, who the heck wears heels to a fair?! Let lose woman!" Jace replied, taking a break from their laughing

Kim shook her head, smiling she looked up at her Brother, "Thanks Jace for dragging me there. I haven't had this much fun in..._forever_"

Jace smiled, "No prob sis, you really needed it. Just please, smile more often would ya?"

At this Kim gave him a sad smile, knowing that nothing could actually make her fully happy again. She lost it long ago and learned how to live without it, even though the results weren't appelling.

They walked inside their front door and saw their parents sitting on the couch watching Tv. Natalie turned towards them and smiled, "Hey kids, had fun?" Everyone knew the question was mostly directed to Kim

"Oh it was Amazing, Kam and I went all of the rides and she even bought me a Teddy bear!" Jace exclaimed

Natalie and Chase rose their eyebrow while Kim nudged him muttering "Hey dude, what happend to 'i'm keeping it a secrete'?" Jace let out a nervous laugh as he looked down at his shoes.

"It wasn't even the other way around..." Chase trailed off, thinking that at least his_ son_ would buy his sister a toy

Everyone looked at eachother and just shrugged. Jace and Chase sat on the couch while Natalie pulled Kim aside

"Honey would you help me with cleaning out the basement? I've been thinking of doing it for a while but i wanted you to be there because half of the stuff down there is yours"

"Sure mom" Kim replied, nodding

"Great" Natalie smiled as both mother and daughter got to work

* * *

Kim was silently working, huffing occasionally from having to carry heavy boxes. Jace and Chase had gone asleep while her mother was in the kitchen making something for the two of them. Today was not only Sunday, but also the first day of summer holidays so she decide to spend the night here.

_'No more waking up early, i can finally go to sleep with a serene face' _Kim thought to herself, smiling in anticipation of her summer. She wanted it to be different this time, she _knew_ that it would be different. She just had that gut feeling, and boy did she hate her oh-so-famous gut feeling.

Sighing, she pulled out a scrapbook from one of the shelves and turned around, walking away when she felt somethig drop on the floor. She stopped in her tracks, not turning around. The sound of something that wasn't meant to be heard reaching her ears loud and clear. Actually, there wasn't even a noise, yet Kim managed to somehow sense it.

It layed there, surface still clear, waiting for someone to pick it up. Yet, Kim didn't dare to move. Like if she moved something would change. If she made that move everything that she somehow built up in these past 7 years would just come crashing down on her.

So she stayed there, unmoving. Million thoughts in her mind


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! Finally Christmas holidays started! **

**Kay, so in this chapter i wrote a part in Kim's POV and i'm sorry if it was not good. I wanted to try it out so i gave it a shot.**

**Also, i would like to thank Aznmissy04 for an idea she gave me for this chapter :) Hope you like it!**

**Desclaimer: I don't own Kickin it**

She was standing still, afraid to make a single movement. Her breath ragged and sweat started forming on her forehead. She clenched her hands into fists, opening and closing them repetedly, not knowing what to do. She closed her eyes as she breathed in deeply to calm herself down but failed badly.

_'What the fucking hell is wrong with me?! I'm freaking out over..._nothing!_' _Kim thought. She couldn't believe it. She didn't understand it. She didn't know it. All she knew was that she wanted to forget everything. I mean, don't get it, forget it. But she wasn't exactly sure of what she wanted to forget either.

A blow of wind came from the open window, sending chills down Kim's spine and moving whatever had fellen on the floor closer to her. It rested there, still waiting to be picked up, the wind blew in again as if to finally get Kim to make a move

She tensed completely, shutting her eyes even more and breathing more heavily. She let her emotions dance in her freely for a brief moment before one of them tugged her back into reality. Kim snapped her eye open, still staring at the ground. She controlled her breathing and wiped the sweat away. She finally raised her head and looked ahead of her, internally smirking, _'What was I thinking? I've been looking forward all this time and i ain't stopping now.'_

She felt proud of herself for manting her cool and not giving in. She was Kim Crawford after all, wasn't she?

And what did she see on the wall in front of her anyway? A framed picture was hanging, portraying a young girl with her mouth wide open, looking as if she was laughing full heartedly at something. Her pearl White teeth were shining as the sun hit her face perfectly, making her hair seem like melted gold. Her smile brought immediate attention to her eyes. They were glinting with laughter and seemed so lively that they could make anyone smile.

However, they made Kim frown. Her internal smile and satisfaction fell as she stared at the picture. With the frown on her face she stared at it longingly with distant eyes. Nostalgia, sadness and pain flashed in them for a second before diissolving as her anger flared. An unknown fire lit up within her for also unknown reasons. She didn't have the slightest idea of what was happening to her, she just wanted it to stop.

For the first time in 7 years, Kim let her emotions lead her, wrong way right way she didn't know but what else was there left for her? She stomped towards the picture and grabbed it roughly, holding it with an iron grip.

Initially, she stared at the picture angrly with her jaw clenched but then she slumped her shoulders and loosened her grip, now looking at it with nostaglia in her eyes. She raised her hand and, after hesitating for a moment, she softly ran her fingers along the glass. She slowly traced the outline of the lips, subcounciously touching her own afterwards,. There was no point in hiding it anymore, she had already begun showing weekness and she vulnarable. Oh that was the bomb that hit her walls.

Unwanted tears started forming in her pain-filled eyes, threthening to spill. The thought of where the hell had her mom gone and what was taking her so long, popped up in her mind but was quickly pushed aside. Her glossy eyes then focused on the girl's eyes, almost feeling jelouse for not being like that.

After analyzing the picture for a good while, she let herself admit something she never wanted, but knew all-too-well. _That _was the real Kim Crawford. The joyful girl she was currently looking at. Something in Kim then snapped, causing her to make a sharp turn back.

Not wiping her eyes, she put down the picture and walked towards the fallen thing. She quickly grabbed it off the ground and finally let herself to take a good look at it. Oh the irony, it was yet _another _picture.

Her heart literally stopped, her eyes widened and she put her other hand over her mouth. The picture portryed her and a boy this time. The boy had black hair and dark brown eyes, filled with playfulness and happiness and his toothy grin told it all. He was hugging her Young self form behind, having a tight grip on her waist. She had her arms on top of his and both were grinning like idiots at the camera.

As tears finally began cascading down her cheeks like a waterfall, memories of her past began flashing before her eyes, blurring her vision even more. Memories of them playing in the park, playing pranks on Others, just spending time togheter having the time of their lives, the accidental first kiss they had with eachother, the constant nights spent in the Woods and finally, they ended with the now vivid memory of that party. From when they walked in the Woods to how they ended up at the mansion, from when they went in and how they had observed everything with interest. Then, how they both started running for their lives, but still, one of them wasn't spared.

By the time Kim went though this memory lane, she was full out sobbing with several droplets of tears wetting the surface of the picture. Letting go of everything there might have been, she fell on her knees, clutching the picure to her chest, right over heart. She never wanted to let go, never wanted to forget and wondered why the hell had she decided to leave it all behind and not do a shit about it. She could have done something, at least tried to.

Suddenly, she remembered what had happend after the whole incident, that resulted in her being like this

_*Flashback*_

_Everything was dead quiet, unspoken questions escaped everyone's lips as a silent breath, lingering in the air. Chase and Stefano tightend their grips on their wives' wais and jace and Andrè appeared on the scene._

_They looked at eachother questioningly before walking up to their parents for some clarification. What happened? Just 5 minutes ago everyone was partying it out._

_"What's going on?" Jace asked his best friend while they walked._

_"I don't know man but all this is creeping me out. Badly" Andrè replied as he heard the eerie music in the background._

_"Mom?" they both asked, voice barely above a whisper, when they reached their parents._

_Natalie and Cecilia sensed something as they looked around. There was Mr. Sanders, the old man who lived across the Street form the Martinez household, there was Maya, the bachelorette of the town, the mayor was holding his cup of punch in mid-air but none of them was who they wanted to see._

_Nothing felt right, and they seemed to freak out even more when they heard a very faint scream. It was barely audible but they heard it and that was what made them break out into a sprint._

**_Kim's POV_**

_I did a 360 of my surroundings and then dropped to my knees. 'No, no, it can't be. NO!' I thought before looking back at the door and then, i lost it. I screamed as loud as i could to make it go away, hoping to erase everything that happened. I screamed untill i couldn't anymore, then i stood back up and ran toward the door._

_"NO, Jerry! Give me back my best friend you..you..AHHH" I yelled, banging my fists full force on the door. My hands started aching but i didn't care. Nothing mattered when my best friend wasn't with me. _

_I continued banging, never wanting to stop until i got Jerry back but in the back of my mind i knew it was useless. I was sobbing like crazy and tears clouded my vision, rolling down my cheeks and they never stopped. _

_Suddenly, i was pulled back and brought into an embrance. Now, i knew it wasn't Jerry so i strated trashing around wildly. I screamed even louder until the comforting voice of my mother reached my ears_

_"KIM, honey, stop! Please Kim just stop trashing around, please" Mom told me trying to refrain my arms from moving so much. But i didn't stop, i couldn't. Eventually, my dad came and picked me up. Calming down a bit, i buried my head in his chest and continued sobbing. He carried me out of the courtyard and put me down. Mom came running toward us and hugged me once again, this time without me jerking violently. I hugged her back and sobbed in her shoulder, my endless tears wetting her shirt. I finally just let myslef melt in her hold, and let cold truth hit me, causing me to lean onto my mother even more. There wasn't anything i could do but to mourn._

_"Why?" I continued whispering whilst shaking my head, still trying to somehow wake up from this nightmare. But when I opened my eyes and saw everyone looking at me sympathetically, i knew it was no nightmare. _

_It seemed like the Whole town had run over here. Some people were looking at me with sympathy, Others were looking at the door of the mansion, while Others were sending me mixed expressions. They had every right to be mad though, if they were. Heck,_ I_ was Beyond mad at myself. _

_Jace and Andrè came up to me and swallowed me into an even tighter hug. I felt them begin to cry too and i knew they realized what had happened. I mean, a person was crying their heart out in front of this mansion, there weren't two options you could choose form to say what happened._

_Soon, we were engaged into a seemingly endless crying fest._

* * *

_I'm sitting on the floor, my back against the wall of my room, staring blankly at the wall opposite me. We got home about two hours ago and mom and Cece lead me and the kids upstairs to my room. They sat with us for a while, comforting us. Cece looked devasted, can you really blame her? I was constantly apologizing to her but she kept on reassuring me it wasn't my fault. About half and hour later, they got called downstaris and left me with Jace and Andrè. _

_Because they were still crying, they didn't notice that i had stopped. I was just sitting there, holding them. I didn't know why, but i think i already cried out all my tears and now i was feeling...nothing. I literally cried my eyes out, i let out _everything _'till i was dry. _

_Now, i'm just sitting here blaming myslef. Jace and Andrè had fallen asleep and rested their heads on my lap. Andrè even accidentally kissed Jace's cheek when he turned his head. _

_'It's all my fault. Why did we go in? Wr could have just backtraked into the Woods but no, we just _had_ to be our stupid selves and go in there.' All this ran in my mind as i now focused my attention on a picture of me and Jerry on the wall._

_'What the hell was I thinking?! We both knew _it, _yet we didn't care. At least me! Between the two us, I'm the one who acutally bothers to _think. _And seriously Kim, pricking the lock?_ _How much more stupid can you get?' I thought exasperated. _

_"I'm sorry Jer, I'm so sorry" I whispered, feeling my eyes begin to drop. I fought to keep them open but soon, i found myslef drifting off into a deep slumber._

_*Flashback ends*_

"I'm sorry Jerry, I'm so so so sorry..." Kim sobbed, her voice falling to a whisper at the end.

* * *

He couldn't believe it. Was this for real? No it couldn't be. But it was.

He should have just listened to his mother and stayed at home, at least he wouldn't be where he was currenlty standing. He should have just stopped at trying to be different, it paid no good. But no, he just had to go out with his ball in hopes of finding some entertainment in this shitty life, at least for once.

He had gone into the Woods so no one would see him and send him home right away. He went in to get away from it all but if only had he known where it would lead him, he would've stayed at home reading a book.

Yes, once he came out of the Woods, his ball rolled all the way into the courtyard of the creepy mansion because he kicked it too hard. And right now, he was standing there like an idiot, staring at the ball from a distance. Oh, did I mention he took his _sister's _pink Disney Princess ball? Now, there was _no way _return home without it. What would he tell his sister when she realized it had desappeared? "Oh, it ended up inside that crrepy mansion, go take it back if you really want to"

Thank goodness he loved his sister and would never even think of saying something like that. So it was obvious that he had to go in there and get it.

Gulping, he stepped inside the vast area and cautiously walked toward the ball. Finally he reached it, now going back. _'I can do it, i can do it' _he thought.

_'No, i can't do it, i CANNOT do it!' _A snap was heard and to say he was startled was an understatement. He was pissing his pants from the fear. He looked around, before focusing on the ground. There he saw it.

It was a lather bracelet, covered in dirt but still looking fine. 'JK' was engraved on it. He began to think, _'JK, JK...what could it mean...' _

Suddenly, realization hit himi, and it hit him _hard._ With the ball and the bracelet in ahnd, he ran out and towards the Woods once again, eager to share what he had found wtih certain people.

**There you have it! Thanks for reading and don't forget to review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys, I'm back! This chapter took me a while to write as I needed to sort things out, that's why I'm disappointed that I wasn't able to write at least two chapters in the winter holidays. I still have two days but I won't be able to post again in at least a week or more. **

**With that said, if you are waiting for Jack, then don't worry because he will appear in the next chapter. Thank you so much for the reviews, they mean a lot.**

**I hope you enjoy!**

**Desclaimer: If I owned Kickin it, I wouldn't be on here.**

**Kim's POV**

I rolled over on the bed, trying to block the sunlight from shining on my face. I snuggled into the conforter even further, closing my eyes but not really wanting to go back to sleep. I just wanted to...relax. Actually I wasn't even sure of what I wanted to do. I had the urge to just lay in bed, all day preferably, and get up, all at the same time. I let out a groan, which came out muffled due to my face being buried in the pillows. It was ridiculous, all of this was. I felt like a freaking pregnant woman with crazy mood swings and I didn't like it one bit. It was like I had no control over my body. My mind and heart always battled and each forced their way to take the lead. There was no actual _me_...if any of that even made sense. The point is, I always let my emotions or brain control me before I even have the chance to actually think. The thing that I ended up doing was never what I wanted but I could do nothing about it.

But as if it wasn't already enough, my emotions fought among themsleves too, never giving me peace. I hate having mixed thoughts over something, just like now. Having seen that picture last night sparked something in me that had long ago faded. For the first time in a long while, last night I had cried. I had cried because I didn't know what else to do. _'Stupid Emotions' _I thought angrily to myself. It's funny how for all these years I had managed to supress them and now, after one look at an old memory, BAM everything just bursts.

I had no idea of what to think, I had no idea of what to do. Part of me wanted me to forget it all and the other wanted me fix this...whatever it was anyway. Finally, I moved my head to the side and took a glance at the alarm clock. The green digital numbers read 10:37 am. Man, did it feel good to wake up on my own instead of the loud busy roads doing it.

The silence in the room got cut off by the -rather loud might I add- grumbling noise my stomach made, demading to be filled up immediatly. I slowly rose out of the bed, before stopping and thinking of how I even got in this room in the first place.

_*Last Night*_

_Whilst absent-mindedly humming a tune, Natalie finally came back from the kitchen holding a tray of Kim's favourite chocolate chip cupcakes. She got held up with a phone call from her mother so she took longer than needed. She opened the door and stilled at the sight before her. Kim was leaning against the wall, knees up to her chest while clutching something tightly. With no emotion on her face, she was staring ahead, lost in her own world. _

_Natalie still didn't undrestand what happened. Was she really gone for that long? When she left, Kim seemed fine, with a tiny smile on her face even. She was happy to see her daughter finally letting lose, she thought it would be a new fresh start all over again, just with different out comes. Yet, after what? Like 20 or 25 minutes, here she is, her baby girl looking as if she just died._

_When the thought struck her, Natalie put her tray down and rushed over to Kim, crouching down. For the first time since she entered the room, Natalie noticed the still fresh tear stains on Kim's cheeks and her eyes immediatly wandered to whatever Kim was still holding with a death girp. She pondered for a moment on whether or not to take a look at the object or try to make Kim talk first. She looked back up at Kim's face and and imidiatly embraced her into a loving hug. _

_"Kim...?" Natalie whispered, trying to get Kim to at least look at her. Kim however didn't shift her gaze from whatever she was looking at with distant yet seemingly curious eyes._

_But Natalie didn't care, right now she only wanted Kim to say something, to tell her what happened that had her in this state. She watched in sorrow as a single tear escaped Kim's eye, slowly making it's way down her cheek 'tll it reached her jaw, Natalie's eyes never leaving it. The tear drop lingered on her jawline and hung there, painfully slowly becomg heavier. The drop started to slip before it fell on the object in Kim's arms and that's when Natalie went to grab it. She grabbed Kim's cold and suprisingly limp arms and took hold of the object, which she now identifided as a piece of paper She was surprised that Kim let it go that easily, but then again, with her arms feeling like that, Natalie felt relieved that she could see her breathing. It was the only sign showing that Kim was even alive, considering she was barely even blinking._

_Once Natalie was sure that Kim wouldn't throw a fit because of her taking the picture away, she got a good look at it and all the air left her lungs, leaving her gaping away at the picture. _

_She hadn't seen Jerry's face in seven years and honestly, she didn't think she ever would again, no matter how much it pained her, it was the truth. The cold truth. But the fact that she still had concrete memories of him, didn't seem to cross her mind and rigth now, she couldn't regret more sending Kim down here, to dig into the depths of the place. She knew how Kim got after the Whole incident, that's why the family moved to New York, hoping to start fresh, but still, their past _Always _seemed to find them again, haunting them in worst ways ever. _

_After regaining her breath, Natalie threw her arms around Kim, pressing her daughter's cold body against her, not expecting her to respond. And she didn't. Natale rested her chin on Kim's head, closing her eyes after feeing them watering. _

_"Oh dear Lord, why? Why my kids, why?" she whispered, asking the now overly-used question, but they didn't care, they just wanted their well-deserved answers. Answers to that question. Jerry had Always been like another son to her, so the pain was shared._

_Natalie never thought it would ever happen again, but apparently getting into trouble runs in their blood. Although, last time, it was only a _very close _one. She still remembered the-_

_"Mom?" Kim's small voice snapped Natalie out of her thoughts and she quickly took Kim's face in her hands, wiping away the stiil fresh tear stains._

_"Kim, honey, I-I...I'm sorry sweetheart, I should h-have known" Natalie stuttered out, gulping in between._

_Kim just shook her head, to deny her or to clear out her thoughts, Natalie didn't know but she knew one thing for sure. She _has_ to get Kim out of here. With that, Natalie gently pulled Kim up, her gaze still directed in the same way as it has been for past 10 minutes and more._

_Kim was still in a daze and she almost didn't feel the grip her mother had on her arms as she pulled her out of the room. Still, Kim didn't stop staring at the same spot until her eyes met door. Natalie dragged Kim away, the cupcake tray long forgotten._

_Once they reached Kim's room, she walked over to her bed by herself and once she hit the matress, she was out like a light, leaving her mother staring at her from the doorway with a look of distress._

I sighed as I looked at myself in the mirror in the bathroom. Memories of last night were blurred, I didn't remember the detalis, I just knew why I was so disthrought...because of that picture. Until now I've had nothing to do with my past, all this time I've run further away from all the memories, the now _painful _memories. It's what I did 7 years ago and it was what I've continued to do. I couldn't bare the loss, I've Always thought of myself as a though one, someone who didn't take shit from anyone, yet I got repressed by my own feelings, that obligated me to change. I never wanted to be like this, a heartless bitch but how can you have feelings if you never stop pushing them away? It was the only way for me to avoid my world to crash down on me again.

My head began spinning and throbbing, as I wasn't used to all my feelings swirling in me. It's been a long while since I let any of them to pop up but seeing Jerry's face again sent me into a wirlwind. It had taken me forever to get my life back on track after I moved to New York, because seeing Jerry everywhere I went, whenever I did something, didn't help at all with me still battling with myself. I was desperate, I missed Jerry like _crazy _because I was Always with him and there wasn't a single thing I did without him.

Eventually, after much struggle, I finally learned how to live without my other half, my twin, but the new world that had managed to buld up wasn't the paradise and peaceful shelter that I hoped it'd be. Oh what a fool I was, I realized only now that there _no_ paradise without the person who meant the most to you in the world.

But nontheless, I accepted it, at least I had something to hold onto instead of being in open waters. I thought that hiding away from my own heart would have been the best choice, but now, after this, I'm positive that I can't go anywhere else. Everything has already been blown away and I'm tired of running away. I've reached my limits and no, I won't dare to push myself farther.

Maybe that's why I suddenly want to run back, pick up that piece of leather I had dropped along the way and...go all the way back to Seaford.

* * *

Natalie was roaming around in the kitchen, Jace had gone out to his friends' house a while ago while her husband left for work. She had no intentions of getting out of bed today but she had to for Jace and Chase. She knows they can take care of themselves but she still wants to Always be there for them, especially in the morning.

It's fair to say that she didn't get any sleep last night. All she had been doing was tossing and turning and even though she was afraid that Chase might wake up, she couldn't stop. She was tired Yesterday but it all melted away when she saw Kim like that. Natalie rubbed her temples once more, considering the option of going back to bed when the phone rang. Sighing, she walked over to it, taking her time.

She cleared her throath before picking up, "Hello?"

"Natalie?" the voice on the other end immediatly said. Natalie froze, her grip on the phone tightened.

"...Cecelia?" she finally answered after several moments of unbarable silence. A sigh of relief was heard from the other side, while Natalie still didn't let lose.

"Yes Natalie, it's me, I-I...Oh my God, it's just...it's just so good to talk to you again" Cecelia said, the exitment in her voice was evident, it was clear she was trying to conceal her squeals too. This made Natalie break into a smile. And not just any smile, a _full _and _happy _smile. It felt nice to smile again after all the drama that occured last night.

"Cece, y-you..how-why..._what?_" Natalie asked breathlessly. She was ecstatic to finally talk with Cece again. They had been the best of friends, long before Kim and Jerry were born and she honestly thought that she had lost her forever after what happened in Seaford. The urge to ask how her, Ricardo and Andrè were doing was great but that also meant bringing up something else. Something she didn't want to bring up at all if she wanted to continue the chat with a happy mood. But the almost unbarable desire to ask how Ricardo was doing, was eating her alive. Her and Ricky had been best friends for as long as they can remember, Cece and Chase came along later on. Natalie loved Ricky like a Brother, she still did beacuse she never stopped. Chase knew that not talking to him was slowly Killing her inside. It was scary how much Natalie, Ricky, Kim and Jerry looked alike. They were the same in so -no- _too _many ways. Kim and Jerry were just like the younger versions of Natalie and Ricky, feelings included.

A laugh from Cece brought Natalie back to reality, "I know, I know. It's all so sudden but-" Cece got cut off by Natalie speaking exitedly in the phone,

"Og God, Cece I'm _so _happy that you called. I though...I thought I would never hear from you again..." Natalie trailed off, knowing Cece would catch on. She thought Cece would drop this subject but she was surprised when she still went on.

"Yeah I know, so much time has passed, I..." a sigh could be heard as she went on, "I honestly didn't even think I'd call" Cece knew Natalie wouldn't get mad at this, and she didn't. Natalie knew all-too-well the feeling. She too never thought of calling Cece, in fear of sparking something, of breaking the balance there was. True, she missed the Martinez family dearly and it was clear they did too, but the situation called for family priorities. She needed to watch out for Kim and to do so, she needed to leave Seaford behind. All of the memories, the people...Both the families needed their space.

"Don't worry, I know. So...what _made _you call?" Even with the mutual feelings on what happened, Natalie still hoped she wasn't rude for asking that question. But all her worry went away as Cece responded,

"You see..." And with that, all the happiness melted away, as Natalie dropped on the nearest couch, with a lump in her throat.

* * *

"Kim?" Natalie called out to her daughter. She had just finished her conversation with Cece and was currently rushing around, trying to shake off some nervousness and anxiety.

She stood near the staircase, waiting for Kim to get down but was shocked to see her coming from downstairs. Where the basement was. She really didn't think Kim would go down there again, but she guessed she should stop presuming things, as until now, everything she thought wouldn't happen, was actually happening before her very eyes.

"Yes mom?" Kim asked once she was infornt of her mother. Natalie looked at Kim for head to toe, when her eyes fell onto her left wrist. A leather bracelet was wrapped around it. Kim followed her gaze and whe she saw the bracelet, she began fiddling around with it, giving Natalie a perfect view of the 'JK' on it.

Kim didn't notice but Natalie stiffened, still eyeing the bracelet. "Kim?" Kim's head snapped up, her full attention on her mother now, "Please come to the living room and take a seat" Natalie lead the way before motiong to Kim to sit down. With a questiong look on her face, Kim complied, before Natalie bagan to speak.

"So, Cece called" Natalie started off with a casual tone, but didn't miss Kim's widening eyes.

"Cece?" kim breathed out after some hesitation. Her mother nodded before continuing, "Yes, and she called to tell something rather interesting"

In all honesty, Kim didn't like her mother's tone and expression at all, maybe because they were unreadable, also mixing with the fact that she was constantly directing her gaze at her wrist. Still, Kim nodded at her to continue.

Natalie took a deep breath before breaking the ice, "She told that somebody found, um, t-they found..." she trailed off, afraid of Kim's reaction though she was a little pleased to already find her with something. It ressured her that her daughter wouldn't exactly have a meltdown.

By this point, Kim was on the edge of her seat, wanting her mother to finish already. Just as she was about to say something, Natalie stopped her by saying, "Kim they found Jerry identical bracelet"

Kim's heart stopped, her eyes widened and her jaw dropped to the ground as she blurted out incoherent stuff. "What-how-when-...he-who..."

Instead of screaming out, like Natalie thought she would, Kim shut her mouth and slowly rose up from the couch, never breaking eye contact with Natalie. Natalie stared at her daughter with utter confusion, contrasting the determination on Kim's face. She didn't have enough time to question it though, as Kim spoke up, loud and clear,

"Mom, I'm going back to Seaford"

**Here you go! Thanks for reading guys, and please, don't forget to review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys, I'm back with another chapter! And wow, this came out longer than I expected. It would have been even longer though, if I didn't decide to split it into two parts. This chapter was already a filler one and I didn't want to overload. Too many events were happening and they all didn't seem right in the same chapter. Because of this, you'll be seeing Jack in the next part. Sorry guys, but that was towards the end, so it went into the other part. **

**But don't worry, Part 2 is already halfway written and I should be able to post it by this weekend. real things are gonna start from chapter 8.**

**Also, please ignore the random capital letters in the story. This site is weird, really. **

**Thank you for all the Amazing reviews and support! Keep them coming please :) ENJOY!**

**Desclaimer: I don't own Kickin it, or anything else mentioned.**

JFK airport was always busy, with people rushing around trying to get to their gate on time. Buisness men speed-walked, teenagers forcefully pushed their way through the crowds, even the seniorns didn't have time to spare. Maybe that's why an old lady was getting fed up with having a family walking infront of her, who seemed to be taking their sweet time. Finally, after finding some space where she could get through, she walked around the snails and stalked off after giving them a glare.

The people didn't seem to be fazed though, as they continued looking at the ground, wanting to spend as much time togheter as they could. They only looked up when they arrived at the security and Kim turned to face her family, ready to say goodbye, at least for a while. She walked towards her father first, not even trying to hide the frown that formed on her face. Chase just gave her a sheepish smile before turning serious and grabbing his daughter's shoulders. He looked staright into her eyes before speaking up,

"Look Kim, I'm sorry okay? I know you don't like planes-" He rudely got cut off by Kim,

"I despise planes" Chase ignored her and continued,

"But I've been waiting for this moment to happen for at least the last 3 years now. I wished day and night that you would finally decide to settle things down with your past, so when I heard you were really going back, I just couldn't stop myself. I had to get you there as soon as I could and the fastest way was by plane and you know it. I knew about your dislike but try to understand. I guess I got a little carried away and acted on impulse..." After that, Kim found it hard to keep her glare, so her eyes softened and Chase brought her into a hug.

"Show 'em you're still that brave girl Kimbo, never back down, promise me" Chase whispered in her ear and was glad to hear Kim respond confindently back,

"I promise daddy, I promise." They pulled away and Kim moved onto her mother. Saying goodbye to her dad wasn't that hard and she knew it from the beginning, but with her mother, she knew a few tears would escape.

Natalie let a lone tear fall, but she managed to work up a smile for Kim's sake. She tried to hide her pain but Kim saw right thorugh it and began reassuring her,

"Mom I know you're worried but trust me, I know what I'm doing and I've never been this sure about anything in my whole life. You know I'm tired of running away, you know I can't take any more of this. You know I _hate _what I've become and I know you all do too. I have to go back to Seaford, I have to fix things. It's time for a change because we can't go on like this. We moved because of my cowardness when we could've done something about it. It's my fault and nothing's gonna stop me from trying to fix it. Mom, please, I need you to believe in me." Kim finished with giving her mother a pleading look.

Natalie sighed and nodded, knowing that anything she would say, would be useless, as Kim had her mind set. She wiped away the tear and Kim smiled, pulling her mother into a warm embrace. Lastly, he brother. As soon as Kim and Natalie broke apart, Jace launched himself at his sister, not even giving her the time to turn around.

Kim stadied herself and wrapped her arms around Jace, who began having a meltdown. Jace buried his face into Kim's chest as he felt his tears finally escape. He's held it in for so long and he just had to let it out.

"Kam, please..." Jace stuttered out, sqeezing Kim even more. Kim didn't mind though, as she only held Jace tighter and tried to stay strong, but failing miserably.

"Kam no. Don't go p-please. I-I don't care if you ch-changed, I do-don't c-care about your flaws, it's not your fault!" By now, Jace was full out sobbing and it broke Kim's heart to see her baby brother like this. It had been ages since she saw him shed a single tear. The first nights after the incident, when they were still in Seaford, whenever Kim snapped, he was the one who held her while she cried her heart out. Despite being the younger one, he always took it upon himself to protect her. He felt the need to. He was her 'bodyguard', always giving the stink eye to any guy she was ever interested in. After Jerry, He always made sure to be the only guy in her life who would get her affections. Possesive? Very. But he didn't want Kim to get hurt again, because he knew that he would never leave her. He would never exit her life, ever.

"Jace I-" Kim tried but Jace shook his head and began speaking again,

"No Kim, I of all all people know what you went through. I was the one who wiped away your tears, I was the one who watched my sister die inside. I promised myself I would never let it happen again." Jace started breathing heavily, while Kim let a few tears fall, knowing that everything he was saying was true.

"That night...that night I almost lost you. You barely escaped Kim, I can't lose you! You're my everything Kam, please don't do this!" Jace shouted ans soon, everything quieted down. It was like everything else disappeared, a bubble formed around them and no sound reached them. It was just Natalie, Chase, Kim and Jace.

"Please" Jace's whisper broke the silence. Kim couldn't bare it anymore, so she grabbed Jace's face in her hands and made him look directly into her eyes. Natalie and Chase continued to watch with saddend eyes, both feeling sorry for their son.

Glossy doe eyes stared into glossy puffy cider eyes. Kim wiped away the tears from her brother's cheeks before speaking with a gentle, soothing tone,

"Jace, sweetheart, I understand your worry, I really do, I get that you don't want to lose me. I know what I mean to you but..." Kim tralied off, before sighing. She knew there was only way to convince Jace to let her go.

"Do you trust me?" Kim asked. Jace blinked and said,

"Kim-" She cut him off,

"Do you trust me?" she asked again, more firmly

"Kim wha-"

"Do you trust me Jace?"

Jace searched into her eyes and when he found nothing but determination, he coldn't help but let out a small smile.

"Yes. Yes I do. Very much" Kim beamed at his words and knew he caved in. Jace pulled her in again. Sighing, he said,

"Stay safe Kam. I love you" He couldn't believe he was agreeing with this, but he trusted his sister with his life. If this was what she wanted, then he was nobody to stop her.

"I promise, I love you too buddy" With a final sqeeze, they broke apart and Kim grabbed her suitcase. She faced her Whole family before saying with a smirk,

"See ya later?" Chase smirked back, while Natalie and Jace just let out a small laugh,

"See ya later" With a final smile, Kim turned around and began walking away. Her family stared at her retreating figure, when Chase walked up behind Jace and put a hand on his shoulder. Jace looked up at him as his father gave him a loop-sided grin,

"Don't worry kiddo, she'll be fine. After all, she's a Crawford" At that, Chase smirked at Natalie, who just shook her head with a small smile on her face.

They all looked back ahead just as Kim turned her head to face them. She gave them a nod and they nodded back, with Jace giving her a thumbs-up. Kim smiled and with one last look, she turned around once again, ready for the hell to come.

* * *

Kim never liked plane rides. She hated how queasy she got and how tired she would feel after just one hour. She has had bad experiences on the aircraft, yet no matter how much she tries to avoid it, she still finds herself staring at a little screen with the food tray down.

_'I knew I shouldn't have let _father _take care of this' _Kim bitterly thought as she stared out the window, wanting to just jump out of it and run as far away as she could. One problem though, the window was too small, because if not, Kim would have surely done it. Sighing, she turned her head to face ahead and leaned back into her seat. She quickly stuck her earbuds in her ears and grabbed her iPod, feeling the plane begin to move. She turned the volume all the way up, gripped the armrests tightly and closed her eyes, trying to block everything else out.

The plane started running down the track and Kim roughly bit her lip, shutting her eyes even more. Finally, she felt the plane lift from the ground as it took off, this being the most crucial part for Kim. She didn't relax until she knew the plane was steady, then she re-opened her eyes and let out a breath. Kim purposely ignored the look the man next to her was giving her, while she tried to calm herself down. Ever since she was little, Kim didn't like planes, unlike other kids her age who already dreamed about becoming pilots. On her first time, she was sick and her ears closed, becoming painful and she didn't take it very nicely for her first time, another time she got a pounding headache that didn't even allow her to turn her head without feeling a pang of pain. Another time again, she puked her guts out.

Kim started taking in deep breaths, when 'Postcards' by James Blunt came on. She allowed herself to smile, knowing that she would fall asleep while listening to this. Sleeping was the only way she coud get through a plane ride without having a heart attack. Anything happening around her wouldn't bother her and she wouldn't have to worry.

_'I should really stop watching Mayday'_ was her last thought before she fell into darkness

* * *

"Folks, we have begun our descent, the current weather is sunny, we will be arriving at the gate in about 20 minutes. Thank you for Flying with us"

The pilot's voice made Kim jolt awake and she accidentaly elbowed the man next to her. He gave her a glare while she smiled meekly, muttering a sorry. She stretched, being careful not piss off the man even more and looked out the window to see the land. She went to fasten her belt when she realized she didn't even unfasten it. She leaned back and closed her eyes, waiting for the damn plane to land already.

When the tires hit the ground, Kim jumped five feet in the air, once again earning a look from her right.

"What?!" This time, she fired back, tired of recieving looks.

"I'm sorry that I hate planes, but my father still thought it would be funny to book me seat on this hell hole of a Flying machine!" The man knew not to mess with her, as he saw the fire in her eyes, so he just turned away, actually being afraid. Kim huffed, crossing her arms in a childish way as the plane came to a stop.

She undid her belt and got up, grabbing her bag and making her way out of the plane as fast as she could. She let out a sigh of relief as soon as her feet touched the ground. She was about to crouch down and kiss the holy ground but didn't want to make a scene bigger than the one in the plane, so she just continued walking.

After collecting her suitcase, she made her way to a cafè, as she didn't eat anything on the plane. The airport wasn't very crowded, so she payed less attention to where she was going. Bad idea. As she was looking around at the few stores, she suddenly crashed into something, or more like somebody. She heard a grunt as she let out a 'whoa!' She saw a flash fo red as the person grabbed her arms to steady her. Finally they both regained their balance and Kim looked up. A tall ginger boy was looking back at her. He had pale skin and looked pasty but he seemind like a really nice person.

"I'm so sorry, I wasn't looking wher-" Kim's apology got interuppted by the boy,

"No no, it's okay. It's my fault too, I was looking down at my phone" he shot her a smile and Kim smiled back. Yeah, a nice person...

"My name is Milton by the way" he introduced himself, extending his hand.

"I'm Kim" Kim shook his hand before they let go, just staring at eachother. For some reason, she felt the need to know more about this guy, so without thinking, she said,

"Hey, I was going over to the cafè, would you like to come?" Only then did she realize that she probably sounded like some desperate chick, which she sure as hell wasn't. _'What the heck is wrong with me? The dude might not even be hungry and is in a rush, yet, I still invite him to a cafè with_ me._ You can be a real dumbass sometimes, Kim' _ But all her worry melted away when Milton smiled at her.

"Yeah sure, I was going there too anyway" Kim smiled back, though she was a bit confused.

_'If he was going there too, how come he walking in the oppsite direction?' _As if sensing her thoughts, Milton spoke up, looking kind of amused,

"And, uh...the cafè is that way..." He tralied off, pointing behind Kim. She felt her cheeks heating up as she let out an embarassed laugh.

"Right..." Milton just shook his head smiling and lead the way.

_*30 minutes later* _

Kim and Milton found themselves engaged into a conversation about planes. Figures. They already finished eating but they both didn't want to leave just yet, as they were having fun.

"Some people say that planes are the safest transportation, when it's clear they've never watched the news." Milton said as he rolled his eyes, thinking of how some people can be so ignorant.

"It doesn't matter if you're not paranoid, there has to be one moment where you though of something bad happening" He continued

"I know and it should always be acceptable that some people are afraid"

During their previous conversation, Milton found out about Kim's hatred and fear but he didn't judge her, as he too had his problems. He also found out that she lived in Manhattan and she was actually going to a town a couple of hours away. The thing is, she didn't tell which town exactly, but he didn't care much, as he too didn't want to reveal his real destination. He didn't know her reasons for the trip but he had some important...stuff to do.

He enjoyed talking to Kim, usually he wasn't so open with strangers but he saw somehting in her. For some reason he knew he would see her again, so why not socialize and make familiarity now? But as much as he enjoyed talking, he also hated lying. He knew the time would come when Kim would ask him about his profession, but no matter how many times he practiced his lines, he would always stutter. His hesitaion, you ask? Well, he guessed he didn't want to be looked at wierdly, he feared he would be somewhat different. So he always went with the closest thing,

"I'm a psychiatrist" his usual response. Well, after all it wasn't completly a lie...sort of

"But anyways, it was really nice talking to you Milton but I really gotta go. I gotta catch a cab, so if you don't mind..." Kim's voice snapped him out of his thoughts and reminded himself that he too had to go.

"Oh yeah, of course. It's okay, I have to get going too" They both got up when Milton's phone began ringing. He turned to her and looked at her apologetically while Kim smiled at him and extended her hand. Milton smiled back and shook it,

"Nice meeting you Milton, hope we do again"

"Yeah, me too. Have a nice and safe stay Kim"

"Thank you, you too. Bye Milton"

"Bye Kim" With a final smile, Kim turned around towards the exit and began walking away. Milton stared at her, _'Yeah, we'll meet again' _he smirked before finally picking up his phone, only to be greeted by the pissed off voice of his mother,

"MILTON! What took you so long I..." He sighed and the rant began.

Outside, Kim breathed in the California air. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back. The bright sunlight hit her face as the light breeze blew through her hair, making it flow. She inhaled deeply before exaling and opening her eyes. After seven years, she had to admit that she missed this. The air here was so different than in New York. The Whole atmosphere was different. The purity, the cleanness, everything. Looking around at the vast place, she concluded, _'Yes, I missed it so much'_

She walked to the sidewalk and started signaling for a cab to stop. After a few minutes, a white cab pulled up and the driver rolled the window, greeting Kim with a smile,

"Good Afternoon miss" Kim smiled back and after putting her suitcase in the trunk, she sat in the backseat. The driver turned to her and asked,

"Where to miss?" At that, Kim shot him a nervous smile, causing the driver to rise his eyebrows

"Um, Seaford" The driver's eyes widened but he quickly composed himself and repeated,

"Seaford? That's a two hour drive from here" Kim noticed how uncomfortable the driver got and she did feel sorry, but she had no other choice. As far as she knew, there weren't bus stops near Seaford.

"I know and I'm sorry, but I have no other option" Kim said regretfully, looking down, cusing the driver's eyes to soften. He didn't know why the miss wanted to go..._there, _but he was a man devoted to his job and he didn't like seeing anyone frown, especially Young ladies, so he pushed aside his worries.

"Okay, let's drive" Kim looked up, surprised.

"Really?" The driver smiled at her before starting up the engine and turning onto the road. Kim let out a sigh of relief and leaned back.

The man may have accepted to drive her there, but he still couldn't help but worry. Worry for the young blond in the backseat.

_'Why?' _soon, 'Maps' by Maroon 5 began blasting trough the speakers, muting all thoughts.

* * *

The cab stopped, reaching the limits of how far it could go. Kim turned her gaze from out the window to the windshield, seeing a path starting just a few feet away. The driver went to speak, when Kim interjected,

"Thank you for your availability. I know it's been a long and tiring journey." The man smiled at her before saying,

"You don't have to thank me miss, It's my job. Getting you here was my duty, as soon as you called me" Kim smiled and stepped out of the cab. She grabbed her suitcase before paying the driver. With a final smile and a nod, the man turned the car around and drove off, giving one last glance at Kim from the rearview mirror.

Kim faced ahead, finally taking it all in. The sky was filled with dark clouds, the wind picked up and the coldness sent shivers down Kim's spine. It didn't look at all like it was summer, more like autmn. She saw the big board on her right. It looked beaten up, the black faded out paint spelled out 'SEAFORD' in cubical letters.

Kim took a deep breath before stepping Beyond the board. Finally, she was in the territory of Seaford and there was _no turning back_. She began walking down the path, the vegetation around it looked as if it hadn't been cut for years, wich it probably wasn't. The wedged path lead into a Group of trees.

_'Since when wre there trees here?' _Kim thought, confused, before shrigging it off. She continued walking for a few minutes until she reached the end and that's where she saw it. Seaford. Her hometown. Or what she thought was Seaford anyway...

Walking down the streets, she noticed the many differences. The Whole town had a dark light to it, the clouds didn't make it any better. All the stores, houses, every buliding, had faded colours. Nobody was outside, there was an eerie silence, that really threw Kim off. It was like she was in one of those old horror movies. Nontheless, she kept on walking down the streets, turning around the blocks, looking closely at each building. She still could recognize every one of them. At one point, her gaze fell upon a small store that stood out the most because of it's pink colour. It wasn't just any store though, it used to be Kim's favourite bakery when she was little.

Kim walked closer to it and pressed up her face against the glass, looking inside at the empty room.

_"Come on Jerry! Hurry!" A blond eight-year-old girl with pigtails yelled to her friend, as she turned her head to look at him. He was going at a slower pace than her, trying to keep his lunch in. The little bundle of energy ran as fast as her little legs could carry her and didn't come to a stop until she reached her destination. The bakery. Kim turned her head to her companion again, as he finally reached her. She was panting while his breathing was less erratic as he didn't make a mad dash towards the place. Once he stood beside her, he gave her a look,_

_"You know it hasn't even opened yet, right?" Kim gave him a cheeky grin, before pressing her face against the glass window. The kids had just gotten their weekly allowance of five dollars, after all, how much could an eight-year-old spend? They were lucky that they even got money to spend on their own in the first place. _

_After a few minutes, Kim saw the brunette lady enter the room from the back of the store, putting on her pink cap with a Lollipop designed on it. _

_"Cindy" Kim whispered as soon as she saw her. Cindy looked up to see her two favourite customers and rushed to open the door. Kim hugged Cindy while Jerry stood behind her and gave a big smile to the woman. Cindy's smile only grew more. Cindy was a 27 year-old woman with long brown hair and deep, cheerful brown eyes. Both hair and eyes seemed like melted chocolate, which was what Kim was craving right now. A smile would Always adorn Cindy's lips, making most of the single men in Seaford fall for her. _

_"Hey kids! Haven't seen you since Saturday, how are you?" Cindy asked, having not seen both of them as they were out of town for the past few days._

_"We're good, the trip was Amazing" Jerry said as Kim let go of Cindy,_

_"But we missed you" Kim added. Because of Cindy's kind nature, everyone loved her, especially kids and more than once she had even baby-sitted them a few times. She was a great friend._

_Cindy chuckled, "Are you sure you missed me, or...these" she teased as she pulled out two of her famous chocolate cookies covered in melted marshmallow, fudge truffles and chunks of cereal. Oh yeah, that got them. Cindy's cookies were famous in the Whole town and nobody could ever resist them. The twins licked their lips, looking up at the woman. She laughed before giving the cookies to the eager kids,_

_"Yeah, I missed you too"_

Kim, overwhelmed by the nostalgic thoughts, decided that it would be better if she just kept going on, before she had a serious meltdown. Yeah, she still wasn't used to her feelings roaming around freely.

She leaned away from the glass and after giving one last look at the store, she turned away and walked off. She needed to act quick, she needed to rush things. It was the only thing that kept her from losing it. She figured that if she didn't stop at certain things, certain _situations _could be avoided. In her opinion, so far she was doing a very good job.

_'Does that mean that Cindy moved away too? No, she couldn't. She loved this bakery, it was passed from generation to generation in her family...how could she?' _Kim though, confused out of her mind. She knew that Seaford now wasn't the best place, but she also knew how much loyal Cindy was. She sighed and shook her head. She kept roaming around, looking at her dark and gloomy surroundings. Even though nobody was outside, the tension in the air could be cut with a knife. An unknown force in the air overwhelmed her. It suffocated her. _'What is it?' _It wasn't the first time she felt like this...

Kim frowned, Seaford looked like an old suburb resided by criminals. The uncertainity, the coldness, the indiffrence, it was all hitting her hard. Looking up, Kim found herself facing a Street. Not just any Street though, _her _Street. The...Martinez's Street. Her feet began moving on their own. She wanted them to lead her the opposite way but they didn't. She soon found herself speed-walking down the Street, before taking a sharp turn on the left. The Crawford's and the Martinez's used to be neighbors, wich means...Kim looked behind her. Yes, the cream-colored house was there. Closed bare Windows, dark brown front door, nothing had changed.

Kim brought her hand up and ran her fingers through her hair, when her eyes fell on the bracelet on her wrist. Suddenly, Kim got a bust of confidence. She gathered all her courage, walked up the porch and rang the doorbell without hesitation. A few moments later, a tall woman who seemed to be in her early 40s, with black hair and a pair of glasses, opened the door. She was about to say something when she took a good look at who was standing before her. Her eyes widened as she whispered,

"_Kim?_"

**Here it is! I hope you liked it and like I said, part 2 is on the way. Don't forget to review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys, I'm back! I'm so sorry it took me like, four weeks to update but life got in the way. I've been super busy with school, soccer and karate but I did find time to write. Slowly, I wrote this chapter and it came out WAY longer than I expected. Like, 6000 words longer.**

**But, it's finally here! Also, you'll see the introduction of a new character here, who I know you already know ;)**

**Thanks for all your amazing reviews guys, I really wouldn't be here without you all :)**

**I finally present you chapter 7! Enjoy!**

**Desclaimer: I don't own Kickin't and anything else mentioned.**

**Warning: swearing in some parts of the chapter. **

"_Kim?_"

Cecelia couldn't believe her eyes. They _had _to be seeing things. _'No, no it can't be. NO!' _Cece thought franatically, while shaking her head, hpoing to clear out her vision. Stiil when she opened her eyes, Kim was still standing there, with an innocent look on her face. When Cece realized that this Kim wasn't going anywhere, she bagan to actually believe she was back. She just needed to...

Kim eyed Cece warily as she lifted her hand, still looking at her with distrought eyes. She knew she should say something before Cece went insane but she couldn't. The happiness, exitment and nevousness were too much. She couldn't move. So she just stood there and watched as Cece seemed to have million thoughts running in her mind. Kim felt something warm on her cheek and snapped back to reality. She looked at Cece's raised arm and saw that she had placed her hand on her cheek. Kim realized what this all was about, so she decided to cut the chase before her beloved auntie fainted. She turned her gaze back to her and smiled.

"Hi Auntie Cece" Kim said softly, trying to get Cece to believe.

Cece, had it. As soon as Kim's voice reached her ears, Cece finally believed. Her eyes didn't betray her, instead they brought her the sight that she had been longing to see for the past years. Cece started tearing up, overwhelmed by emotions,

"Oh My Goodness" She croaked out as she threw her arms around Kim, embracing her into a long-lasting warm hug. Kim sighed in relief as she hugged back. She was really worried about their reaction, after all, she just showed up on their doorstep just like that, after several years of not talking. Cece was taking it pretty well, now two more to go.

"Kim, I can't believe you're here! What are you doing here?!" Cece said as she pulled away and brought Kim inside. She lead her to the living room, with Kim looking around. Everthing was still the same. The pictures, the style, everything. Kim was glad to see that even through the absense of Jerry, the family still put all of his pictures out in the open, for everyone to see. She was happy that they didn't close him out, they weren't afraid and they had nothing to hide. A lot of memories resided in this very house. It was where Jerry and Kim first walked, where they had their first birthday, their first fight...so many memories.

Cece made her sit down on one of the couches and began showering her with questions,

"Kim what are doing here? What were you thinking? No, it's not like that, I mean, I'm really glad to see you again, but you-I-" Kim cut off Cece's rambling by getting up from the couch and putting her hands in front of her, to stop her,

"Cece I-"

"I'm just so happy to see you, I don't even know what to s-"

"Cece! Calm dow-" At this point, Kim began raising her voice, trying to shut her up so she could explain herself, but Cece too raised her voice,

"I thought I'd never see you again!" The room went silent. Dead silent. Kim had her mouth open, from what she was going to say, but now, her words got caught in ther throat. Her arms were still raised but she didn't move to lower them. Cece on the other hand, began breathing franatically, but still, she continued on,

"I never thought I'd see you again Kim. I-I..." Cece's voice began cracking, she couldn't find the right words. She was still shell-shocked. Kim wanted to do something, anything. She wanted to grab Cece and make her sit down, she wanted to calm her down before she seriously freaked out...but she _just couldn't move. _Kim didn't know why she was acting like this, after all, she kind of expected an out-burst like this. But she never thought that it would hurt her. Yeah, Cece's words stung right on her heart. Only now she realized just how much the Martinez family was shattered. It's not like she didn't before, but only now she fully realized how much big her mistake was. It was _much _bigger than she knew.

Kim was like the daughter Cece never had and Kim felt horrible that she really thought she would never see her again. But what hurt her the most? Her biggest mistake ever was leaving. Leaving when they needed the one person in the Whole world..._her. _She was the closest real thing they had left of Jerry, yet, she left too. They had _no one._ Cece didn't have Natalie, Ricardo didn't have Chase and Andrè didn't have Jace. But all of them didn't have _her._

Cece calmed down on her own after a while, moving her gaze from the floor to look up at Kim,

"Kim, listen, It was very good to see you, believe me...but..." Cece lowered her gaze and shifted her eyes back and forth from Kim to the ground. Kim saw her clear hesitation, so she pushed her further,

"But?" Cece sighed and bored her eyes into KIm's, looking at her with a straight and very serious face,

"But you have to leave right away" At this, Kim's eyebrows shot up. She looked at the older woman in front of her, her expression saying it all, _'Are you _serious?_'_

_'I came all the way here for_ this?!_' _Kim thought desbelievingly, before voicing her thoughts,

"Woah hold up," Cece was taken aback from Kim's sudden change of tone. Kim placed her hand on her hip, her eyebrows rasing once more questioningly,

"You're saying that I should leave? Just like that?"

"It's not like it's the first time you're doing this..." Cece muttered to herself, still, Kim heard her. Hurt flashed in her brown eyes but it went away as quickly as it appeared. She knew she deserved it anyway.

"Cece look, I didn't come all the way here just to run away again. I'm her to make things right" Cece looked at her shocked and when she didn't say anything, she continued,

"I'm sorry for running away all those years back. I know that you must've lead a horrible life but trust me, mine wasn't any better! The pain just wouldn't go away, all the memories haunted me until I forced myself into pushing it all aside. I basically supressed my soul and went for seven years with nothing in my life to look forward to." By now, Cece had tears in her eyes while Kim's were welling up. She refused to let the tears fall though, she had to stay strong. She had to_ prove _that she was strong. _Strong enough._

"I became a-a...a _nobody_. But I had no choice. In order to continue living I _had _be that way." Kim was still trying to hold it all in, not to break down. But the more she talked, the harder it became for her to stay composed. Cece just stood there, too dumbstruck to do anything.

"It was horrible. It was like everything was all in black and White. Nothing to hold onto...the monotone life. It sucked. Eventually, this affected my family too. It affected them badly. I was so cold, I couldn't even feel safe in my own house!" KIm's reathing ragged, she blinked back the tears before continuing,

"I know you all hate me Cece. _I know. _And I know that you can't ever forgive me for being such a coward, but I'm sorry." Kim's voice didn't raise, like Cece expected. Instead, it became softer and softer. Kim kept looking at her feet,

"I'm sorry. It's all mu fault. Th-that night, it was all because of me." At this point, Cece couldn't bare to see her like this, so she made to move forward but Kim stopped her.

"I could've stopped it. I could've saved him." Kim stepped back, until the back of her legs hit the couch. She collapsed on it, continuing with a whisper,

"But then I left all of you, when you needed me the most. I acted selfish and you all had to pay for it. You suffered more than me. Yet..." Kim gulped down a sob, still fighting against the tears.

"Yet, you still held your heart close. You never gave up on life. All this while, _thoughness _was just word to me. I lost it while you guys became stronger. You shielded yourself bravely while I just stood behind Others." Kim let out a bitter, sadistic laugh whilst shaking her head. All this while, Cece didn't know what to do. She knew that comforting her wouldn't help, as she needed to let it out. No matter what she would say, she knew Kim wouldn't shut up until she was finished.

"I'm ashamed of myself." Cece's eyes widened as Kim gritted her teeth. Kim got this murderous look in her eyes and now, Cece was getting scared. She desperatly wanted to do something to end Kim's misery, but she didn't know what. She was afraid that someone would get hurt, but Km seemed to want to only beat herself up.

"I'm ashamed. I Always claimed to be tough one...but I only proved what a coward and a weakling I am. It's all my fault"

Kim couldn't believe it. Her running off completely changed their perspective on her. But no, she couldn't believe herself

_'They think I'm not strong enough...they think I'm too weak. They think I can't handle any of this. They think I can't do something. They think that this not my home anymore' _Kim didn't know what to do, what to say. What can she do to convince them?

After that, a long awkward silence followed. Cece was trying to process everything in her head, while Kim continued to glare in thin air. Her glossy eyes still held anger and Cece decided to bring Kim out of her fallen state.

The guilt slowly crept up her spine and filled her whole being. The poor girl had just come back to look for a new something...a new _happy _something. The moment that was supposed to be happy and joyful, turned out to be the worst memory lane Kim had ever endured. Cece really didn't mean to cause Kim major pain, instead she wanted to save her from _more _pain. Pain that she would surely feel if she stayed in Seaford.

This wasn't a safe place for her anymore. Actually, it has never been the safest place for her. If that night didn't happen, Kim might have been okay, but now, danger is around every corner and she is the one and only target. Pain wouldn't be the only thing she would feel.

'_Kim please, try to understand...' _Cece was about to voice her thoughts when a small whisper cut through the silence of the room.

"I'm sorry" It was the only thing she could do. Apologise. The only thing she could say. Sorry.

But 'sorry' doesn't mean she'll go away. She'll stay. That's how she'll convince them.

Finally, Kim broke out and let all her tears cascade down her cheeks, as she began crying silently.

Cece felt herself begin to cry too, as she shook her head, as if trying desperatly to tell Kim that she was wrong, that none of this was her fault. But nothing could come out, she couldn't speak.

So she just stood there, as she watched Kim wallow in sorrow and self-disdain.

Anger sparked in Cece as she watched her dear Kim. Her broken Kim.

_'It's not Kim's fault! It's...her fault!"_

_'But Kim doesn't know any of it...'_

* * *

I put my hands on the railing as I leaned against it. I took a deep breath in as I started to relax. A smile came onto my face as I looked up at the nighlty Seaford sky. A light summer breeze blew onto my face as I continued to gaze up at the stars. The full moon casted an incredible pale glow onto the town, the million stars looked like little gems shining brightly. I closed my eyes as I fully relaxed, before bowing my head down and turning my gaze onto the courtyard below me.

_'I really need to clean that place...but I like the pots...' _

My brief moment of relaxing ended though, as soon as I looked ahead, beyond the entrence of my mansion. My smile got replaced by a frown as the reality of the Seaford hit me.

"What is wrong with these people?" I huffed out, shaking my head disbelievingly.

Ever since I came here and bought this mansion, all they wanted me to do is leave! Who do they think they are? They can't just tell me what to do, I'm 20 for God's sake! Plus, they're strangers, people who I barely even know, if they think I'm fleeing just because they constantly tell me to, then they're wrong. I never listen to anyone, especially complete strangers.

You'd think that after staying in Seaford for almost a year now I would know all the citizens here, but no. I really don't. Trust me, I tried. I tried hard to socialize but the only thing they ever say to me is,

"Get outta here while you still can' same sentence, always accompanied with a frown.

Kind and really talkative people, right? Yeah, I know...

People here seem to love frowning and glaring, as they do so even with eachother. It's not pleseant to watch every person glare at one another all the time. The tension and the awkwardness in the air never leave but I always find myself in the middle of it all.

Sometimes, I don't even what to think. If they should go out in the sun more often, to learn how to smile, or just stay at home and keep their glares to themselves. And the children. Oh, I swear, the day I see a kid outside, secretly playing, away from the others, is the day I just can't stop smiling til I go to sleep.

But sadly, it rarely ever happens. I really don't know how parents can be that cruel to their own children, never letting them see the daylight.

There _is _something off with this town...there are many things I don't know about Seaford...

I start looking around and slowly, the smile reappears on my face. I may dislike the other residents here, but I still don't leave. Why, you ask? Simple, because I love this mansion.

It's my sanctuary. My personal heaven, my man cave. Even though it doesn't look like a guy lives here because of the interior style...

But it's still the most beautiful house I've ever seen. The perfect place for an artist...like me.

I've always had the passion for drawing, ever since I was little I would try to draw every new thing I would see, try to capture the sight before me in my own way, with my own hands. The feeling I get whenever I draw is...something special. It's like I'm in my own world where everything is sketched, black and white, but most importantly, it's all made by me. The king of my world...yeah, that's me.

After High School, I had no plans of going to college. I just wanted to dedicate my life to my art and then I would decide if I want to get a real qualification. I had my whole life planned out, but the hardest part was convincing my parents. After some 'what if's' and 'you can't...' me and my sister finally managed to convince them, on one codition though: I had to take online courses.

I knew it was hard for my parents to accept that, I mean, I come from a rich family so it's no surprise if they wanted me to become a lawyer or something.

But like I said, my life, I don't listen to anyone, but still, I agreed to take the courses.

Over the next year, I looked for some place where I could live on my own and in peace. I found Seaford out of the blue and when I arrived here for the first time to check it out, I found this mansion and fell in love with it. The town seemed tranquil and I could afford the mansion, so I moved here by the time I was 19.

I let out a laugh as I remembered how people reacted when I asked them how much the mansion cost, since there was no sign and I was sure nobody already lived there

"_Um, excuse me sir but, uh..." I stuttered, trying to find a way to say it. I really want to know but I still don't want to look like an idiot. Even though I already am with my mouth still open when I'm not saying anything..._

_I quickly shut my mouth as the man behind the counter turned to me and raised his eyebrows. _

"_Yes?" I observed the man more carefully. He seemed to be one of those badasses you would find in old alleyways, with his disgustingly big muscles and broad form. He only had half of his left eyebrow and he also had a scar under his right eye. I have to admit, he really looks intimidating but he doesn't scare me. Fourth degree black belt here. But I still wonder how he ended up working at a toy store..._

_He narrowed his eyes at me and placed his fist on the counter before I realized that he was waiting for an answer. I snapped out of it and cleared my troath,_

"_Sorry. So um, I just saw this really...cool mansion on the other side of the woods" I started explaining the reason of me being here in the first place. It's been years since I've stepped foot in a toy store. _

_The man, who I now identifided as John Wilder, scrunched his eyebrows in confusion_

"_...so?" I knew that I shouldn't have started off that way! _

"_Sooo, I like it. Like, really like it and dude-" The look he gave at 'dude' made me cut short. He narrowed his eyes even more and leaned forward a bit, making me lean back. I quickly corrected myself,_

"_Mr. Wilder." Okay, I may be a martial artist but I'm not a suicidal! This _dude _really knows how to be scary._

"_Mr. Wilder, I really like that mansion and I was wondering if you knew how much it costs. There isn't a real agency where I can ask" I finally say the matter, actually feeling accomplished. Well, that is, until I see the straight face John is giving me. I nod my head as if to ask 'what?', but his expresion doesn't change._

"_And why _would _you excatly want to know how much it costs?" I stare at him confusion._

_What the heck man? Why do you think I asked it genious? So I can feed it to my cat? Well, sorry _dude, _but I don't have a cat. _

"_...because I want to buy it?" Instead came my non-provocative answer...question. I stil don't want my perfect face to be punched in._

_John eyed me wierdly, his face growing redder by the second. He suddenly bursted out laughing hysterically. The other clerk turned towards us for the first time since I came in here. I expected him to come over and ask what was wrong, but he just turned back around and speed-walked towards the back of the store. I stared after him disbelievingly._

_'Whimp', **'Oh look who's talking, Mr. Scardy Pants. Weren't you the one who was about to piss his pants just after Hugey here looked at you?' **'Hey, at least I didn't run away!' **'The guy has the right to be afraid. He sees the man every day' **_

_After I finished arguing with my coscience, I turned to face John again, to see him wiping away a few tears that escaped and trying to control his breathing. He let out a few more laughs before fully regaining his breath,_

"_Go home kid. Just...ah go home" With that he turned around, still chukling a bit. _

"_Buy that hell hole. Ha, what an idiot" I heard him mutter. I start walking away indignantly, while giving him the finger and making many weird faces behind his back. I really whished he saw them though._

_Once outside, I bumped into this old man wearing nothing but a long white tunic and carring a big yellow cloth bag. The man looked up at me and just stared at me for a good five minutes. He seemed to abserving every little detail of my face, judging bu the way he kept squinting his eyes. After a few moments, his eyes widened a little and something shone in them. Wait...was that-_

_The man suddenly stuck his finger up in my face, that look in his eyes gone._

"_You. You incosiderate boy. Do you know even what you're talking about?" I opened my mouth to answer but I got cut off,_

"_No. You have absolutely no idea!" By now, he was full out yelling, his finger still up to my face._

"_Listen this boy, just go away. Don't talk about things you don't even know." He finally lowered his finger and _finally_ let me say something,_

"_But I-" spoke too soon..._

"_Enough! You have no idea of what you're heading towards. You don't know a thing about that mansion, I won't let you just-just _buy_ it! You don't know what lies in there!" _

_He ignored my confused expression and just continued yelling,_

"_Don't do it! Just go away, it's for the better!" The man looked at me one last time, the anger didn't leave his face as he was still fuming. With a glare, he turned around and limped away._

_What the...?_

"_Unbelievable"_

_Really _unbelievable. That was my first time in Seaford and the first time I've noticed their weird behaviour. The first time I've questioned their sanity. The first time I got a whole town to turn against me. _Unbelievable _right?

After that day, I just moved in without second thoughts. No one could make me change my mind, not even big scary cashiers or creepy old men.

What was their problem anyway? This mansion is amazing! The perfect environment for anyone to live in. Every little thing in here is interesting and worth drawing.

The quiteness here is unbelievable, like something from the other world! My inspiration gets constantly sparked. The open space, the antique furniture and style...this mansion has it everything!

I really don't know why everyone wants me to leave. But there is one thing though th-

My phone began ringing and I finally tore my eyes away from the door opposite me, on the other side of the courtyard.

I smile as see the caller ID. Grace.

"Hey sis"

"Jack Brewer! You..."

* * *

The clock stroke midnight as the moonlight shone in from the open window. Kim layed on the bed in the guestroom, still wide awake. Her hands were behind her head and had her legs bent upwards, the right one over the left one. She had been in this position for almost an hour now. No matter how hard she tried, she wouldn't fall asleep. How could she, when her mind wasn't at peace?

How could she relax when her whole being kept shaking? So she just decided to open her eyes and see if she could tire herself out without even trying.

After Cece had calmed her down earlier, she brought Kim into the room and comforted her in every way possible. She pretended that nothing ever happened and gave Kim a nice warm hug, saying how happy she actually was in seeing her again. It wasn't a lie, she really was and now, she wanted nothing more than for Kim to feel welcomed again. She figured that it would be the best way to start off with.

She prepared Kim a nice dinner and as they waited for Ricardo and Andrè to come back to town after some work, the girls had a nice talk, finally letting themselves turn into how they were seven years ago. Carefree.

Finally, the boys came back and to say they were shocked in seeing Kim, would be an understatement.

"_Hey honey, we're home!" Ricardo called out to his wife as he and Andrè walked thorugh the front door._

"_Mamma, what's for dinner?" Andrè hadn't eaten anything since noon, and it's been six hours now. His stomach was eating him alive. _

_Both father and son walked into the kitchen when Kim truned towards them, a grin on her face from her conversation with Cece. The boys looked up when they both jumped back, clutching onto eachother._

"_Whoa!" they exclaimed, eyes wide as saucers._

"_What the-?" Ricardo got cut of by Andrè,_

"_Mom, you look _exactly_ like Kim! How did you do that?!" he asked in amazement, letting go of his father. _

_Kim scrunched up her eyebrows as Cece rolled her eyes, 'Oh boy...' she thought while sighing. She stepped from behind Kim and faced her two boys. Andrè and Ricardo's mouths dropped open as they both froze. _

"_Holy. Shit" Andrè croaked out, still gaping away at the blonde in front of him. It's been so long..._

_He was the first one to snap out of their trance, as he began taking cautious steps towards Kim. One step after another, slowly, he stood in front of Kim, eyes not wide anymore, but eyes that held wonder. Cece had backed away, knowing what was about to come. It was just a matter of time before he snapped. _

_Kim eyed Andrè joyfully, 'I can't believe how much he grew up'_

"_Hey An-" Kim didn't get to finish as Andrè jumped on her, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist. _

"_Oh my God, you're real! You're really here!" Andrè couldn't find a way to express his happiness, just hugging her wasn't enough. He had missed her so much, a single day wouldn't go by where he wished she was there with him._

_Kim laughed as she hugged him back, gripping the back of head in her palm. She clutched him tight, almost feeling like Jerry was in her arms._

_They both pulled away at the same time and grinned at eachother. Andrè was just about to ask hr something when a voice came from behind him,_

"_Kim?" Ricardo was still frozen in place, barely able to speak properly. _Kimmy _was back..._

_Kim smiled meekly at him, _

"_Hi uncle Ricky"_

Not much happened after that, they all just sat at the table and had dinner togheter. Ricardo was stil in a shock, he was lost in his own world and everybody decided not to bother him. They ate in silence, with Andrè occasionaly asking Kim silent questions. After dinner, they all silently went to their rooms, wanting to just go to sleep after an eventful day.

That's how Kim ended up where she was. Still unable to sleep, gazing up at the ceiling.

A sudden knock on the door startled her, making her gasp. The door opened slowly and soon, Ricky's head popped out. Kim gave him a confused look as he smiled at her.

"Can I come in?" Kim stiffly nodded, still surprised in finding Ricardo there. Ricardo stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. He walked over to Kim's bed, sitting at the foot of it.

For a few minutes, they just sat there quietly, Kim still confused and Ricardo trying to find what to say.

"Hey" came his casual greeting. Kim allowed a small smile to appear on her face as she responded back,

"Hey"

Ricardo turned towards her and just looked at her. He had a million questions running in his mind but he didn't know from where to start.

"H-how's everyone Kim?" Out of everything, this was the thing he was dying to ask.

"Everyone's fine Ricky...they miss you all"

Ricardo gave her a sad smile. Kim knew what he wanted to ask, but also knew that he wouldn't do it, so she just anwered his un-asked question,

"She's fine Ricky. She misses you a lot too, really." Ricardo looked up at her and gave her a sad smile.

Natalie was his best friend. He still considered her as his little sister, he never stopped loving her as one. He would do anything just to see her one more time.

Ricardo shook his head to clear out all his thoughts, then he focused only on Kim being in Seaford.

"Kim...would you mind telling me why exactly you're here? Not that I'm not happy. I am. Just, curious..." He trailed off, looking at her expectantly.

"I'm here to make things right Ricky. I realized my mistake and I'm here to try and fix this all. I'll try my best. Just leave it all to me, I know what I'm doing. All I need is your support. Nothing else." Kim explained, looking Ricky straight in the eye. He stared back at her, bofore nodding determinatedly at her. Slowly, a smile grew on his lips as he started nodding faster.

"Okay. I will support you. I'll do anything you need, you know why?" Kim shook her head, honestly intrigued in why,

"Because I knew you would come back one day. I knew you would come back here and try to fix all of this. That's why I've been preparng myself for this day. I trust you Kim. I know you can do it." Rickly told her, causing Kim to grin widely and hug him.

"After all, you're a Crawford"

After that, Ricardo got up and walked out of the room.

"Goodnight Kimmers"

"Goodnight Ricky"

Kim layed down and turned onto her side, finally closing her eyes.

_'Yeah, a Crawford...I'll find you Jerry. I will find you, I know you're still here'_

**",",","**

_'You don't know what lies in there!' _Haunts me every night...

* * *

The next morning, Kim woke up feeling refreshed and ready for the hell that was to come. She showered and threw on an over sized Nike t-shirt, black yoga pants and white Adidas. She went downstairs and into the kitchen. Cece was pulling something out of the fridge, ready to make breakfast. She saw Kim and smiled at her,

"Good Morning Kim. Slept well?"

"Yeah I did, thanks"

"So what do you plan on doing today?" Cece asked her as she poured some of the pancake batter in in the pan. She quickly glanced at Kim and saw her shrugging.

"I'm just going to go around town. Just observing, I guess" At this, Cece turned to her, pancake forgotten.

"What's wrong?" Kim asked, concerned for Cece's sudden change of mood.

"Kim..." Kim nodded at her to go on,

"Look honey, I just think it would be better if you, you know, acted a bit secretive?" Kim rose her eyebrows, amused at what Cece was trying to say. She had already understood.

Cece noticed her look and backed herself up,

"What? You really should do it! Kim, if anyone sees you back here, they might not take it well." Kim sighed,

"I know Cece, I know. My intentions were just that. I know what you mean and you're perfectly right. Don't worry, I'm not letting anyone see me...but you might want to worry about that pancake..." Kim pointed behind her, as a burning smell started to form around. Cece silently cursed, before quickly taking out the burnt pancake from the pan.

"Yeah, I should just, go now." Kim started walking backwards, grabbing an apple on her way out.

"Wait, don't you want any pancakes? They're still your favourite right?"

"Yes they are, but don't worry! An apple will be just fine" With a final smile, Kim turned around and walked out the door, leaving the safety of the Martinez house and into the open world of Seaford.

**",",","**

I've been walking around for almost an hour now, sneaking past everyone, trying not to attract attention. It wasn't very hard though, as there weren't many people out. Actually, the morning seemed to be the only part of the day that was more or less lively. More people were out, and by more, I mean like 15-20.

And I watched them all. I watched from a distance as they did their daily chores. I still recognized them all. I saw Mr. White mowing his lawn, sweet old Mrs. Campbell sitting on the swingchair on her porch, Karin who used to work at the ice cream parlor, and a few others

Everything was silent though, nobody talked to eachother. It was like they were complete strangers to eachother, as they passed by giving cold shoulders. They also have a thing with glaring and keeping grim faces. All they ever do is glare at this, glare at that, give him/her the stink eye, silently wishing they would desappear in thin air...it all creeped me out badly.

Seaford wasn't like this _at all _seven years ago. Everybody loved eachother, no one was left out. People were there for eachother, always ready to offer a shoulder to anyone in need. Love used to fill the air, along with laughter and warmth. Now, the closest you have to some noise is the grass cutting machine Mr. White has. _Everthing has changed._

I get out of the bush I was hiding in and start sneaking my way to the park. I'm sure no one's there, so I can walk around freely without having to crouch down. When I arrive at the park though, my feet freeze at the entrance. Mamories of that night come flooding back to me. It's almost as if I can see what was happening here before the all the drama. Kids running around, music blasting through the speakers, people scattered everywhere dancing, drinking, eating and whatnot. I still remember where my and Jerry's parents were when we left them. At the tree. There they are. Infront me. They're there talking without a care in the world, dad and Ricky having a tight hold on mom and Cece.

Lost in my daydream -that looks _so_ real, by the way- I don't feel myself beging to walk forward and into the park. I unconsciously start looking around. Nothing has changed. Same big old tress, the only difference being the empty playground. I continue to walk around blindly before I find myself at the entrance of the woods. Agian, I freeze.

Deciding that I have nothing else to lose, apart from myself, I just walk into the sea of trees.

Walking into the woods is even worse that walking through the park. This used to be mine and Jerry's place, our personal immense hideout. _Our _own playground. All the costant nights we spent here, are flashing right before my very eyes. Wherever I turn, there's _us._

I see me on Jerry's back as he runs around, I see the both of sitting on logs telling eachother scary stories, I see us running around like lunatics, jumping over branches, getting scratches everywhere.

I see us walking that night, further into the woods. I start following us and I don't even seem to realize how idiotic this sounds. Still, I follow them like a lost puppy and I find myself staring at the backyard of-of...the mansion.

I blinked and suddenly...I was all alone. Jerry and I weren't infront of me anymore, I really was alone. Suddenly I had full control of my body again and I forced myself to move forward and to walk around the building to face the front. It was obvious that my inner self wanted to just get out of here quickly.

But I'm here with a mission and this is the best way to start from.

I glanced up at the mansion and took it all in. It really hasn't changed much, maybe apart from the paint that was no longer faded. My eyes snap towards the front door though, as soon I hear a sound coming from the inside.

My eyes widened when I saw a figure coming out of the house, closing the door behind them. I squinted my eyes to look closely and see it's a guy.

To say I was shocked would be a total unstatement. Who the hell was that guy?! And how did he get in there without suffering from a brutal attack?

My eyes widen again as the guy and me lock eyes now. He slowly starts walking towards me, neither of us looking away. The closer he comes closer, the more my eyes start to go back to normal. Finally, he's standing two feet away from me, under the large entrance leading to the cortyard, still inside the boundries of the mansion.

I finally tear my eyes away from his and look at the rest of him. He has longish, shaggy brown hair, two amazing chocolate brown eyes that I can just get lost in and- wait. Amazing? What the heck am I saying, I barely even know the guy. My heart still takes the lead though...

His face is perfect and with his two little moles on each cheek he looks so cute! He has a really built body, the muscles are evedent from his tight black t-shirt. I can tell he's taller than me and finally, he looks to be around my age. After I'm done checking him out, I glance back up at his -strangely familiar- handsome face, his eyes holding wonders as I tried to keep myself from getting lost into them once agian. I couldn't though, they're hypnotizing! I started melting into those chocolate pools of his, and I almost let myself into another daydream...until he rolled his eyes at me.

Confusion rushes through me briefly, before my eyebrows rise up. If attitude is what he wants, attitude is what he'll have.

He scoffs, looking at the ground for a moment, before looking back up at me.

"Look, I've never seen you here before, but I know why you're here" he speaks up for the first time, holding his arms out and putting his hands up as if telling me not to step any further.

Gosh, his voice is so deep and- okay, this guy really needs to hold in his sexiness. I'm trying to be mad at you dude!

I cross my arms as I stare at him curiously. He knows why I'm here? Oh, now _that's_ something I wanna hear. I title my head to the side, urging him to go on.

"You're here to tell me to leave this place. I bet the others sent you here." He lets out a laugh, smirking slighlty.

"Wow, people must be desperate for me to leave. I don't listen to them, what makes them think I'm gonna listen to _you?_" At that, I uncross my arms, feeling the anger inside me rise by the second.

Yeah, pretty face my ass.

"Yuo're just a newcomer" By this point, my hands were balled up into fists, as my whole body started to shake due to anger. What the hell? Who does _he _think he is exactly?

**'A rather hot guy who's making your insides squirm' **_'Shut up conscience!'_

"Oh, I see you still didn't get the messege. I think _you _should leave now." When I didn't move, the Jackass rolled his eyes once more, letting out an exasperated sigh,

"Oh yeah right, forgot you were a _blonde_" **(Okay, no offence to blondes. My own best friend is a blonde!) **At that, my eyes widened slighltly, before rage completely filled me. Oh now he has crossed the line!

I glare right into his eyes, trying to get the messege through, _'SHUT UP!'_

"Me no leave. You leave" _'Shut up before I seriously kill you!'_

That's it! This dude really needs a brainwash!

After rolling his eyes one more time, the jerk truned around, and walked away. He crossed the courtyard and was just about to open the front door, when I finally snapped. _'He's not getting away that easily'_

"Hey! Jackass!" I step forward until I'm right infront of the grand entrance, but still not crossing it. The guy freezes as soon as he hears me. He makes no move to turn around but I know he's listening to me.

"I'm more than you think I am!" Still no movement. _'But I ain't gonna stop'_

"And I would like to clear up a couple of things! First off, you really need to stop with the steryotypes. They won't do you any good. Because I may be a blonde, but I ain't nowhere near to being dumb. _You _are proving yourself the dumb one here, if you actually think that everything the world says is true. And I don't care if it was just a joke, because some people might take it to heart." I'm pratically yelling at him across he courtyard, but I need to let him know that nothing he said had really affected me, like he probably imagined.

"Second and the most important thing, something i've already mentioned, I'm more than you think I am." At this, he turns his head towards me slightly,

"You think you already know Seaford more than enough huh?" Turns a little more,

"Well guess what? You _don't. _Apparently, you don't know a single shit about Seaford if you're even here in the first place. People are right, telling you to leave." As I finished my -awesome- comeback, I was speaking with a normal tone, knowing I had gotten my messege through clearly.

The guy had fully turned around by now, looking at me speechlessly. I smirked, putting my hands on my hips. I have to admit though, the newfound fire inside me was burning like crazy. There was something about him that just ignited this fire and it filled me to the brim. It was a lively feeling...like I had energy to live fully again. But still, the anger didn't subside,

"I really can't help but agree with them. Now, I know I didn't come here for this but...leave til you still can." And with a last warning glare, smirk still on my face, I turned around feeling somewhat proud. I began stomping away, but if would've waited, I would've seen the confused look on the guy's face, almost wanting to know more.

But none of this would change my new perspective on him though.

_'Stupid freak'_

* * *

That afternoon, I was seated on a bench near the elementary school. I had nothing to worry about now, Cece told me that people don't ever dare to go out at this hour. It was perfect for me to have some more alone time and to observe the town more carefully.

After my encounter with that freak, I had gone straight home and asked Cece who that guy was. The curiousity was seriously eating me alive.

"_Hey Cece, can I ask you something?" I was leaning against the counter top, watching Cece prepare lunch. She turned to look at me and smiled,_

"_Of course sweetheart, what is it?" I turned my body to face hers, as I suddenly started to become nervous. 'What if she gets mad at me for going there? Well, she can't be mad, after all, I _am _here for this...but still she-'_

"_Kim? Are you ok?" Cece's voice snapped me out of my thoughts, my eyes foucusing on her concerned face. I smiled at her, trying to reassure that everything was fine._

"_Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Just..." I trailed off before spilling the beans,_

"_See, I went back to the masion, actually, it wasn't me, it was my feet. Blame my feet and my stupid head, they guided me! I-" _

"_KIM! Relax, slow down! Chill!" Cece moved forward and placed her hands on my arms, trying to calm me down and to stop my unnecessary rant._

_I took a deep breath, closing my eyes, before looking at Cece. I stared at her relaxed face for a bit before starting to speak, words coming out on their own,_

"_I was walking through the woods, when I saw _us._ I kind of started following us and they lead me to the mansion. There, I saw a guy. Like, a _guy _guy. He came out of the front door, like he owned the place and started going all judgemental on me! He told I me to just go away, because he was _so sure _that I came there to tell _him _off. But most of all, he insulted me! Just like that! That dude really has some nerve. He told that _I _was a newcomer! _A NEWCOMER!_ So now I want to know, who the heck _is _that guy?!"_

_Through it all, Cece just kept a calm face, listening to me intensily. I, instead, kept flaing my arms around like a manic, emphasizing whenever I could. Finally, I looked at her with a mixed expression, showing anger and despair. I really didn't know what to feel right now. I was already messed up and this guy just sent me into another whirlwind. I don't even know his name yet, and he already has this major effect on me. Never have I ever been this cought up with someone I barely just met._

_Cece taking her hands off my arms brought me back to reality. She sighed, turning around to face the living room and leaned back onto the kitchen counter. _

"_Okay, first of all, that guy has a name, which I know you're dying to hear." She looked at me with a pointed look as I nodded eagerly._

"_His name's Jack. Jack Brewer, and the reason he seems to 'own' that place is because he actually _does." _Say what now? Okay, I really wasn't expecting that! I assumed that something just went to his head, nothing _this _big! This is huge! Cece must have noticed my beliwered expression as she continued,_

"_I know, I know. Total setback, believe me, I went there." I nodded once again, too dazed to actually say something._

"_He moved here a year ago and the mansion caught his eye. Obviously, he bought it"_

"_But...and the others? Did they not do anything to stop him? I mean, I know people still tell him to leave, he thought I was about to! But still, he _must _have struggled a lot to buy it."_

_Surprisingly, Cece let out a snort, too amused for my liking. I mean, this is a serious matter! Come on!_

"_Struggle?" A laugh._

"_That boy doesn't know the meaning of 'struggle', because it's obvious he never had to face it."_

_I was still confused though, and thankfully, Cece is a fast catcher._

"_But yes, the whole town tried to persude him to go away, a few even offered to buy him a nice house somewhere else!" Cece began walking into the living room and plopped onto the couch. I followed suit, bringing my legs up._

"_But Jack just wouldn't budge. He had his mind set and he's the second most stubborn person I've ever met"_

"_Who's the first?" came my obvious question. Cece smiled, turning towards me,_

"_You" came the all-the-more-obvious answer. I rolled my eyes, before nodding at her to go on,_

"_So yeah, he ignored us all and went ahead. Besides, he didn't even buy the mansion! How could he buy it when there wasn't even a prize?" Point taken. Then what did he do?_

"_The next day, we saw him going back and forth through town carrying all kinds of stuff. It was obvious that he had just gone in there and claimed the place as his." Bold, are we? Too bold..._

"_From that day on, he's been living here like a normal resident. People still go to him and try to change his mind but he always refuses. I wonder when they will realize that it's all useless..." Cece trailed off and I knew that story-time was over._

_I sat there quietly, before a thought struck me._

"_And you?" Cece looked at me confused. _

"_What do you think about this? Don't you want him to go away? Haven't you tried?"_

_Cece stared ahead, face serene._

"_I've never tried. I knew it would be useless, there was no point." She shrugged, before growing on a serious face._

"_But it was like...something was stopping me." I furrowed my brows,_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_I mean that...something about him stopped me from doing anything. It's been a year, but I still don't know what it is. Him coming here brought up yet another mystery...at least to me." _

_A few moments passed, neither of us saying anything as we were too absorbed in our thoughts._

_But wait, he seem-_

"_Okay so, enough with all of this. Lunch time" Cece slapped her hands on her knees before getting up._

"_You coming Kim? I made lasagna" She smirked while I smiled teasingly,_

"_What is it with you and all my favourite dishes today? Oh, I feel so special" I grinned as Cece went into the kitchen laughing._

_Soon, Ricky and Andrè had joined us too and we all began eating. After finishing, I went upstairs and changed into a yellow tank top, a white cardigan and a pair of black leggins. I planned on going out again, but this time, I brought a criss-cross bag with me to carry my phone and a bunch of other stuff. I told Cece I was going out and she told me a few things, like not having to hide anymore, whick I was grateful for. I went out the house and was on hunting-mode again._

Which brings me to where I am right now. Sitting on a rusty bench, staring at the empty roads of the now creepy looking Seaford. But I wasn't at peace a_t all._ No matter how much i tried, Jack just wouldn't leave my mind. It was like everything I thought of, connected back to Jack. I could start by thinking of chocolate and it would lead to Jack's eyes. I could think about animals and they would make me think of Jack's moles. This is ridiculous!

I just can't seem to forget about him!

"Ugh, why did he look so familiar?" I hiss out quietly, tensing up. Afer hearing myself say it out loud, I freeze and think. Think _hard._

_'Why _did _he look so familiar?' _It's true, he really did. Whenever I imagine his face in my head, I'm lead back to a really faded image in the back of mind. The feeling of having seen him before is strong though.

_'But where?'_

**",",","**

As Kim sat on the bench lost in her thoughts about Jack, said boy sat on the steps of his front porch thinking about her. As his face flashed before her eyes, her words rang in his ears. Both focused onto the ground infront of them, glaring imaginary holes into the dirt.

At this point, they had given up on trying to advert their thoughts on something else, as all that came from it, was always the other.

After Kim had walked off, Jack had stood there frozen in place, million thoughts filling up his mind. He had seriously thought that she was just another passer-by, someone who he wouldn't see ever again. But that sparkle in her pretty brown eyes, it's something he won't ever be able to forget.

_'I'm more than you think I am!'_

_'You don't know a single shit about Seaford'_

_'You don't know what lies in there!' _

Apparently, Jack didn't seem to know _a lot _of things, but he knew two things for sure. One, those words will keep haunting him, along with that _door, _until his mind finally sees the light of aknowledge again, and two, he would see that -beautiful- blonde girl again.

* * *

Kim shook her head, blinking rapidly, trying to clear out her head because it had begun throbbing.

_'I really should go home and rest. This is too much' _Right now, she wanted nothing more than to sleep, with her head on her mother's lap, Jace playing with her fingers and her father watching a game on tv with the volume all the way up. **(I know what it feels like...I just have another brother playing with my hair)**

Yeah, that was her family and she missed all of them like crazy, even though it's only been like a day.

Sighing, Kim got up from the bench and started crossing the road, eyes fix on the ground, too lost in her own world. It's a deserted town, who would come all of a sudden with a car? Jack.

Jack's BMW turned around the corner and onto the road Kim was in. She was too caught up in her thoughts to notice, and he was too caught up in his music to slow down.

It's a deserted town, who would be crossing the road, emerging from their house out of the blue? Kim.

Jack opened his eyes just on time, only for them to widen at the sight of Kim about to be hit by his car. Kim's head snapped up as soon as she saw a flash of light coming from her side. Her face showed pure terror as they both curesed out loud and Jack jerked the steering wheel to the side. The side of the car hit Kim's, making her swirl and sending her to the ground, dropping her bag and spilling the contenets onto the concrete. Kim's body hit the ground as the car abruptly stopped. Jack rushed out and ran to the blonde sprawled out on the road.

"Oh my God" He breathed out as he kneeled down and grabbed Kim's arms. He gently pulled her up into a sitting position as Kim moaned softly.

"Ow" She muttered, bringing up her right bloody elbow. Jack looked over her shoulder as his chest pressed up against her back, and frowned at the injury caused by him.

They both looked at Kim's elbow as she began blowing air on it softly. Jack turned his head slightly, the tip of his nose brushing against her ear. He gazed at her, as her eyes remained on her injury. The wind picked up slightly, blowing aside Kim's hair, some soft strands hitting Jack's face as he continued to admire her beauty. He watched with wonder filled eyes as Kim assisted her elbow, wiping away the blood with the sleeve of her cardigan.

Being this close to her, made Jack's heart thump faster and louder. So much that he feared she might be able to hear it or feel it due to their closeness. Her sweet strawberry scent sent his head spinning wildly. He let his body relax as he closed his eyes. He leaned his head even closer to Kim's hair, breathing in ever so slightly, a small content smile forming on his lips.

Oh, how he wanted to just freeze in this moment with this blonde who he _still _doesn't know the name of.

A hiss from siad blonde pulled him back down from his heaven, as he opened his eyes and looked back at Kim's elbow. The frown reappeared on his face as he remembered she was hurt.

"Are you ok?" He asked softly, watching as she blew on the injury.

"Yeah" Kim replied, just as softly, nodding slightly.

They both stayed in the same position for a few more moments, as the wind blew past them. In those few moments, everything else seemed to desappear, all the worry, all the mysteries, _everything._ It was like all they needed was eachother. They both heard nothing but the thumping of the other's heart and the wind whistling.

When pain shot through Kim's elbow though, reality drowned on her as she suddenly felt that fire in her again. Though this time, it was nothing but rage.

She shot up from the ground, scaring the daylights out of Jack. She sharply turned towards him as he too rose up. Now they were both face to face, with Kim's face holding despair while Jack held a straight look. No way would he let her know the effect she had on him.

"If you don't know how to drive, the why _do _you drive?" Kim barked, eyes narrowing and looking at Jack expectantly. Jack's eyes widened slightly, before gaining the same look as Kim's.

"If you don't know how to walk on the street, then why don't you just stay home?" He shot back, face showing anger too. Kim gasped silently, _'Oh no! He won't turn this around on me!'_

"If you don't know how to talk to people, then why don't you just stay silent" Kim roared, also reffering back to their earlier encounter.

Jack sighed angrily, getting exasperated by the second. _'This chick is the moodiest person I've ever met!'_

Kim's hands formed into fists as Jack raised his right arm, in his hand was a black object.

"Listen, you-" Jack got cut off by Kim, who saw the thing he was holding and grabbed it, pointing it at him. Just then, he noticed it was a small spray can.

Kim looked at him with a pointed look, spray can in the air pointed directly at Jack. He took a step back, caught off guard by her sudden and unsual action.

"Pepper spray." Kim said mattef-of-factly. Jack looked at the can and back to her.

"Girls need to keep it for their safety." She told him, eyes piercing fiercely into his.

"Maybe girls won't need to worry about their safety if they stopped going out" Jack told her bluntly, blurting out the first thing that popped into his mind.

Kim gasped loudly. She stared at him wide eyed, rage getting the best of her. If there was one thing she hated, it was sexism. She couldn't stand it, it was unaccepetable!

_'Oh my God, how _dare _he?!' _Kim thought infuriated.

Suddenly, Jack realized his awful mistake as he saw Kim's face grow red. She looked like a volcano about to burst. He hated volcanos...

"Oh my God, what is w_rong _with you?!" Kim shouted in his face. This was just the beginning though, and Jack knew it.

He opened his mouth to say something, but Kim didn't let him as she began ranting, flailing her arms around wildly

"What is wrong with your world of males?! Huh?! Can't you stop being unsensitive for little while?" She asked him, narrowing her eyes at him, as he just stood there and listened to her with a hard face.

"Of course it's our fault! It's always _us girls, _isn't it?! Like, 'Hey! She got raped, it _must _be her fault! She shouldn't be walking down the street' or, 'She got killed, it was _definetly _her!' It's like we don't value a single peice of shit! We're not fucking worth it!" Kim was yelling at the top of her lungs. She didn't care if she was being too loud and attracted attention. She was heated up, she was _fuming._ She _couldn't stop._

"But guess what?! Girls are fucking awesome! We _deserve _to have rights, we deserve to be treated equally! We're _not _barbie dolls, so we _can not _be thrown around as such!" By the end of her short speech, Kim was breathing heavily, trying to cool herself down before she went on another ramapage. Jack stared at her, face showing no emoton and Kim hated it.

_'Didn't he listen to any thing I said? This dude turned out to be heartless' _Kim thought, almost disgusted. She scrunched up nose, leaning back. She shook her head while Jack blinked and sighed.

"If you're done-" Kim's glare hardened, "I just wanted to say sorry, okay?" her eyes softened a bit

"Or should I bring you a whole wardrobe full of new shitty pink clothes?" Jack rose his eyebrows at her, as she gave him the meanest glare she could muster.

_'Oh, he's _totally _asking for it!' _Kim was so enraged that she didn't know what to do. She wanted to scream out loud and punch him with all her strenght.

"Keep your pathethic aplogises to yourself, I don't need them! Actually, it would've better if you just kept your mouth shut!" She hissed at him, her fists turning white.

"Hey, you're bringing it upon yourself, it's not my fault!" Kim looked at him incredilously. She didn't know how he quickly he managed to find a way to turn the tables.

_'What the hell did I do?!'_

"I-you-but th-" She stammered out before stopping abruptly. She closed her eyes and pressed her lips togheter. She opened them again and brought her hands up in surrender

"You know what? That's it, I give up. It's impossible to deal with you and I've had enough."

"Me, impossible? You're kidding right? Ha, _you _are the moodiest person I've ever met! _I _have had enough!" Jack countered back, not wanting Kim to win this fight, with him looking like an idiot.

"Oh yeah? Well then, if you have had enough then why don't you just get lost?!"

"Oh I think I will"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

With that, they both turned around sharply and began stomping away. They couldn't believe how _unbelievable _the other was being. This was crazy!

No...

_'Crazy sexist freak!'_

_'Crazy moody chick!'_

* * *

Somewhere in the woods, in the middle of the night, a dark figure stood beside a tree. They panted as they put their hand on the trunk and hissed. Bright yellow eyes looked around franatically, as a loud growl was heard. Blonde hair flashed in their eyes as they seemed to turn to their normal colour. Their body relaxed, though for not even a second before they began shaking again. The yellow animalistic glow returned as another growl was let out.

They punched the tree, effectively making a dent in the trunk.

"_Where is she?"_

**Here it is! This took me lots of time to write but I'm proud of how it came out. I hope you're happy that jack and Kim finally met, even though their encounters weren't the best...**

**But anyways, I would really like to know what you think of Jack and why he 'looks so familar' to our ladies. Also, what do you think of this '_she_'?**

**I hope you liked it and make sure to leave a review!**

**Until next time, **

**-Alex**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey guys, I'm back! ...Finally...**

**I'm so sorry it took a Whole month to update but this chapter wasn't cooperating. I had to sort out all my ideas for each and every chapter and finally, this is finished. **

**After a long wait, I bring you chapter 8! Thank you all for your amaing reviews, they keep me going! :) You guys are the best!**

**One tip for the reading though, you have to read carefully in order to not get confused. I even got confused myself halfway through. The things is, as you'll see, there are a lot of 'he' and 'she' but if you are careful you won't have any problem guessing who is who. **

**But trust me, it had to be like this.**

**With that said, I hope you enjoy!**

**Desclaimer: I don't own Kickin it**

Darkness.

Darkness is what he ever saw. He couldn't even remember the last time he saw a flickr of light.

How much time has it been? Surely not days, so 10 years? 20 years? Or maybe even only months...and eternity? Was he immortal now? Was he even alive? He didn't know.

He only knew one thing: he was still in his body...but it sure didn't feel like it...

He couldn't feel anything. Everything felt so empty. It felt like he was walking in an endless dark pit. He felt so light, like he wasn't even there, yet, he somehow knew he still was.

How could he not know? How can he be not sure? He didn't know.

But tha was only about himself. He may not feel anything about himself but he felt the other presence all-too-well. How could he not anyway? It was impossible not to. He kept being thrown around carelessly, being pushed aside forcefully and thrown into an even darker and deeper corner of...something...he didn't know. It was awful but he never did anything, Of course, he tried in the beginning but he only ended up losing even those small bits of energy he had left. He couldn't do anything, besides, he didn't even exactly know what he was fighting for...and that was the biggest lie he had ever told.

Of course he knew what he was fighting for! It was...something important...someone important? Could be but it was important and that's enough. He didn't know a lot of things...true, but he did know one thing for sure: he had to stop whatever had taken over because he just knew that important thing meant the world to him, and he wouldn't let anything get to it. Why? Because he knew what it wanted. No, who _she _wanted.

He knew what she wanted and he loved it with all his heart, something he managed to somehow save but only for the time being.

He didn't remember much, he only remembered blond hair flowing in the wind, big brown glossy eyes filled with unshed tears and a pair of lips curved into a frown. Then, a door shutting.

After that, it was all darkness and a blur. He didn't know how he ended up where he was when he woke up. That face was the only vivid memory he had. He hated the frown but he knew that it belonged to a person he loved.

He didn't know why but whenever that face flashed before his eyes, he would feel tranquil. His mind would be at peace, he would stop struggling against his invisible bounds, he would stop shaking from fear, he would just still, close his eyes and let a small smile grace his lips. But his peaceful moment was always interrupted by loud harsh words. Curse words, most of the time directed to him.

He wanted to fight, he really did, but how can you fight off something you can't see? Of course he could hear her, but he was no superman to fight like this. Besides, he didn't have the strenght. He lost it long ago and it never came back. Everytime she yelled, his heart ached terribly. She only made him feel worse, made him feel smaller and smaller from the cruel things she did and said to him.

He was tired, he wanted it all to finish. He would whimper sometimes, trying to get even the least bit of pity from her but she was never fazed.

Pity. Something he never thought he would ask for. Something he used to hate. Something that used to make his blood boil if anyone ever made the mistake of directing it at him.

But there wasn't anything else he could do. He was severly hurt, he was all alone, left with a heartless monster and pity was the only thing he had left. But now, he hated it even more, because it never worked.

Now, he just stopped saying anything. He just stopped trying to do something, before he seriously fell somewhere where he could never return from.

But...what was this? His own body.

Yes, but...was this already the point of no return? Was he already doomed? Well, he already felt like an old beaten up rag, so he might as well just think of himself of dead.

But why didn't he go to Heaven? Forget Heaven, he would be content with _Hell!_ Anything would be better than this, because this was _so _not hell! Hell almost seemed like paradise compared to this fucking drak hole-whatever-it-is!

And now he's getting angry. They both see a flash of blonde. Only he sees fire. She screams. He grits his teeth. She moves. He stands still. Her eyes grow wide. His narrow into slits. Her fingers twitch. His hands ball into tight fists.

Finally, he hollores. He comes out of his corner and sees the daylight. He no longer feels weak, tired and useless, but he feels...a fire. A burning fire that eats him quickly, giving him the burst of energy he missed. It was familiar fire, _too _familiar. It was _his _fire.

Him and her, clash togheter again and blend togheter, creating a dangerous and feiry mix. He's not thinking anymore, everything he had felt until now flushes down the drain, never to be seen again, as he now only acts on impulse. Now, even if he wanted to, he couldn't master his own mind because he was blended with her. His mind was already currupted but like every other time, he didn't care, he just let it be.

The fire, ah the fire. How he loved that fire. It made him feel lively again, so strong, so full, so _free. _

His body moved, him cooperating with her. Another flash of blond. It didn't faze him. The girl whips her head around, a huge grin on her face before all the colour drains from her face. Her eyes grew wide, as the figure before her smirked evily. The girl wanted to scream but she couldn't get anything out. The words got caught in her throat, and she was left gaping away like a fish out of water.

The figure came closer and closer as she backed away farther, until her back hit a wall. She looked around franatically, as her chest heaved up and down fastly. She tried to make a run for it but a punch gazed her nose as it collided with the wall behind her, making gasp.

_"Should've thought twice before coming here sweetheart. Bad things can happen in alleys" _They breathed in her ear. That voice was a horrible mix between a man and woman's voice and it sent unpleasant chills down the girl's spine. She shivered, beads of sweat already dripping off her forehead.

She slowly turned her head to the side and dared to gaze up into the figure's eyes. Horrible mistake. Now she'll be haunted for llfe!

_'The world seems to love us right now, as it doesn't want us to go through our future misery and decided to just kill us off right now! Isn't that just sweet and great?!'_ The blonde's conscience snapped at her but she didn't have time to counter back. She knew it was right anyway...

Looking into the figure's eyes was the worst mistake she'd ever commited. As soon as she looked up, she gasped out loudly.

Green eyes met two demoniac eyes. One pupil was an animalistic yellow, while the other was fire red. They contrasted eachother so much but togheter, they made the worst combination possible. Her terrifed self reflected off them, proving to her that she was the prey. And whatever was behind those eyes, her predator.

Even in her terrified state, she took in the figure's actual appereance. Slight stubble on the chin, it's a boy. Raven black spicky hair and a twisted grin on his chapped lips.

Those eyes though, they didn't belong there.

The girl was brought out of her trance when he suddenly gripped her tightly around the neck. His right hand wrapped itself around the blonde's neck with an iron grip, lifting her off the ground.

The girl let out a squeak and shut her eyes, her hands instantly shotting up to grip the hand clutching her. She tried to push it, she kicked around, trying to hit him but it only ended in her getting chocked more.

All this while, he just stood there, looking rather amused. He pinned her against the wall, making her head hit on it forcefully, yet the girl was still in her senses.

He watched her. He watched her squirm around desperatly, gasping for air every few seconds while he just loosened and tightened his grip on her neck as if it was a sponge.

He didn't know what happened to him, he didn't know what he was doing, he couldn't think staright. Was this wrong? Who was this? It's not _her_.

_It's not her. _The person important to him, it's not her. He remembers, doe brown eyes, of a girl.

The realiziation made him angrier and relieved. He was relieved because he wasn't hurting _her_. He was angrier because he still hasn't found her.

Shouldn't he be happy though? That he still didn't find her? That meant she was safe right? Why did he feel upset even with this?

Yes, he was happy it wasn't her. It meant she was safe, she was still there, away from all danger. But he was also mad. Mad that he still didn't find her. No, not to hurt her, but because he missed her. He missed her dearly and everyday his heart ached to see her. To see that beautiful face again, sporting a smile though, he hated the frown. He wanted to see that sparkle in her eyes again and...when did he remember all of this?

Who cares, it's a beautiful image!

He wanted to find her so he could hug her, tell her how much he missed her and how much she meant to him. It's been a long while but that's one thing he'll nver forget.

But that would never happen and he knew it. He knew that was impossible.

He wanted her safe, yes, but her safety was only possible if she stayed away form him, if they never met, if they never crossed paths. And that, that was the biggest blow to his already weak heart.

He knew very well that he couldn't see her, yet he always yearned it. Was that selfish of him? Was he selfish for wanting to see her again, even when he knew that now he was nothing but danger to her? Did he really want that?

No, of course not, but the urge to just go and ask every single person who came in his way, if they knew her, it was too big. He coulnd't help it...he couldn't control himself...was he losing control now?

This girl wasn't her, he still didn't find her! It's ridiculous, it's been..it's been ages and he still couldn't find her. How unbelievable is that?! How's that possible dammit?! When will he get to finally see her? Even from a distance? Never? No, he couldn't live that way, he had to find her!

But this girl wasn't her. Why the hell wasn't she _her?!_ Huh?!

Suddenly his grip on the girl's neck tightened, making her sqeak out.

"P-please..." She pleaded in a small hoarse voice, her slender fingers wrapping tightly around his strong closed ones. He grinded his teeth togheter, staring disbelievingly at the girl.

"Please? You say please?" He roared out, with the same demoniacal voice sending unpleasent chills down her spine again. He couldn't believe it! Was this girl for real now?

"How dare you?! You don't have the right to plead! You don't deserve to be spared, you don't deserve simpathy!" He pulled her slightly, beofre slamming her head back on the wall, as the girl began seeing black spots in her vision, along with her Whole life flasing before her eyes.

It's happening. There's no way out now. Why? What did she do to deserve this? She just wanted to give her little sister the candy she wanted, why did she have to die like this? Leaving her sister alone, not being able to see her again? She didn't have anyone else, their parents were dead.

Why God, why?

"You're not her! So don't say please, because you're not her! Why did you come in my way? You deserve to die now!" That's her mistake? She wasn't _her_? Now she would die, regretting every single moment of her life, for not being _her_.

With that, he clutched her neck tighter, for the last time, as the girl let out a strangled sound, eyes widening and jaw dropping.

He felt her fingers grow cold and limp against his hand, and then he knew she was officially dead.

_'Finally, she was annoying me' _He thought, as he tossed her body aside onto the ground. She landed near the dumpster on her stomach. Her left cheek was pressed against the cold ground as her lifeless wide eyes stared at him. He stared back at her, but after some minutes, he began feeling uncomfortable under her blank stare. It was as if those dull eyes were moking him, demading to know why he did that, what was their fault.

_'I wasn't her'_ Was the blond's last thought before the air stopped filling her lungs, leaving them dry. Little did she know though, that she wasn't the first girl to ever endure all of this, also regretting not being _her._

Her dead eyes glared holes into his messed up soul, silently searching for a heart to peirce into.

Meanwhile, inside him, something was still flaring. No, it wasn't him this time, it was the other force, the other more powerful presence. He may have calmed down a bit, but she sure as hell didn't. She knew it, she knew it from the beginning that it wasn't _her. _She couldn tell by the way he acted.

After their first encounter with another unfortunate blond girl, she studied his ways. Love didn't work like that. It was impossible for him to act this way towards someone he loved, towards the _love of his life_, even if he was under the effect of something. His ways should change, he shouldn't be brutal, but something should spark in him and that something should be good. Instead, all she got every time, was more and more anger radiating off him and mixing with her own.

When he sees her, he should calm down, then become weak and vulnarable and that's when she takes over. She'll finally get to complete her mission.

She seriously can't wait to-

He twitches. She looks with her lone yellow eye at the lifeless girl at their feet, blatantly staring up at them like an hawk. She isn't fazed at all by the peircing glare, though the boy is having serious problems.

The more he stares at her, the more he realizes what he has done, as reality finally hits him hard. He's becoming weak again, losing his power and energy, leaving him hanging in between.

Moments of what just happened, flash before his eyes, as the trail ends with the girl's body hiting the ground, leading the deadly eyes to stare at him like they are now. Then, he snaps.

He snaps out of his enraged state, as he falls off the hook and lands back into his depressive hole. Him and her seperate, with more ease than when they combined as the blood red colour drains from his pupils. Just as quckly as it started, it ended. He's now back in his original place...

_"That's your respectful place, you fool!" _She roars at him, as he shrinks in more and more. The verbal abusing was on again.

_"The only place you deserve to be in, after what you caused! For the useless being you are!" _She enjoyed, wathing him suffer, she enjoyed the pian she brought him, that radiated off of him and hit her. It was like food to her.

If only she could make suffer _even more h-_

_"See what you have done?! You killed her! You never stop do you?" _She loved putting all the blame on him, making him feel like the only responsable was him and only him, even though she knew they both acted. But making them suffer, watch them get swallowed in their endless pain filled pit, it felt _so good _to her. They deserved it! They desreved it all, if not more!

He was shaking. He couldn't believe it happened yet again. He just realized that once again he went all pyscho, losing his mind and taking the life of another innocent girl. Why does he keep doing that? Why can't he keep control? Was he really becoming a monster like her? No, he couldn't, he was useless after all...

Yeah, that was all he was. Nothing. Useless.

He would tell himself that it would never happen again, that he would remain in his senses but as soon as he sees a flash of blond, poof! He's a whole other something...and he was scared of himself because of that.

_'I'm useless, I'm useless, I'm useless' _Those words kept running through his mind, scarring it a whole lot more.

Who was he?

He was _the lost soul._

**There you have it people, how was it? Please, leave your thoughts in a review :)**

**I hope you didn't get too confuse,d but like I said before, if you read closley, then it'll be easier.**

**By the way guys, I wanted to say, to those who still didn't know, that the last episode of Kickin it is on youtube!**

**Thanks for reading guys, and until next time**

**-Alex**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys! I'm back! **

**...Finally.**

**I'm so sorry it took me this long to update but this chapter was giving me a hard time. But now I promise that the next one won't take as long, as it's about 40% done already. **

**Thank you all for your reviews and keep them coming please! **

**And to ELOVATE: Don't worry, this is a Kick story! :) The love Jerry and Kim have is just a brotherly one. **

**That said, enjoy!**

**Desclaimer: I don't own Kickin it.**

_'I can't believe I'm actually doing this'_

_**'I told you it wasn't a good idea!'**_

_'Shut up!'_

_**'But see! You never listen to me!'**_

_'Would you just _shut up, _you idiot!'_

_**'You do realise you just called yourself an idiot...'**_

As I was arguing with my own concience- who was admittedly winning-, I stood infront of the grand entrance of the mansion.

Late at night.

While everybody else was sleeping. Including Jack.

I gulped as I brought my wrist up and looked at the time on my wrist watch. It read 2:27 am in black digital numbers before I dropped down my arm and turned to stare at the front door across the courtyard again.

I was still wondering why the hell was I even here in the first place.

_**'It was your idea after all'**_

Indeed, yes it was my own idea to sneak out late at night and break into the mansion to do some research, in hopes of finding somthing that may lead to Jerry.

I had sneaked out of the house earlier and run into the woods with my bag on my side carrying my camera and phone.

I'd been so determinated and confident but instantly froze as soon as I stood by the doorway of the entrance.

Now, it's been more than 15 minuets and I was still standing here like an idiot, unmoving and pondering on what to do.

I was frazzled, my thoughts and beliefs were all over the place. I couldn't understand why I was like this, after all, I hadn't been this nervous when I last came here and met Jack for the first time. I was confident and feiry, in that moment I felt like my old self was back, the one I lost 7 years back.

Strong, fearless and brave, but all that now only seemed like faint memories, like my happy times with Jerry. When I arrived here, I could pratically feel the colour draining from my face, along with my soul, leaving me completely empty and vulnarable.

My breath got caught in my throat as I tried to remember why I was here but only bad memories in this mansion succesed to cloud my vision and mind. I tried to find a way out of it, tried seeing the light in the dark pit I was uncounsciosly and rapidly falling into but I was stuck.

I desperatly tried to move, forwards, backwards, sideways, it didn't matter, I just wanted to know I was still alive and this wasn't some kind of freaky post-death experience.

But my feet were glued to the ground as I felt like they were sinking in deeper and deeper, as if the cold ground under her suddenly seemed to be quick-sand.

I couldn't breath properly, my breath ragged as more scarring visions clouded my mind. I shut my eyes close for a second but as soon as Jerry's terrified face flashed before me, I snapped them back open.

Little droplets of sweat slid down my forehead as I forced my head to slowly move upwards. My eyes trained over the front of the mansion, studying every detail they could catch.

Uncounsciously, I raised my right foot and took the first step into the courtyad, now officcially being on the property of Jack Brewer.

In a trance, I continued walking, with my eyes never leaving the mansion. From the large hollows on the side of the hallway facing the courtyard, an image of me and Jerry leaning on the railing to look down, flashed before my scarred eyes for a second before being replaced by another one.

This time, me and Jerry were running down the hallways, as a faint tinkling sound could be heard.

Great, now I'm hallucinating.

But I wasn't aware of it. To me it was all real, like I travelled back in time and was now witnessing the whole thing as a third person. This dinamic image wasn't fading away though, like the first did.

I watched with distant and lost eyes as vision me and vision Jerry darted down the hall, then disappearing into a door. Not even a minute later though, the front door burst open and vision me and Jerry came running at me

I watched as vision Jerry was suddenly grabbed from behind by an invisible strong force and as vision me now stopped, staring at me wide eyed. She whipped her head around when she heard Jerry yell and made to go to him but was stopped by him yelling something.

I couldn't hear them, I could only see Jerry's lips moving franatically when the door shut.

As the door shut, I snapped out of my trance when I saw my younger self down on her knees, weeping uncontrollably. Without thinking, I moved forwards to her when I saw the image fade away.

When there was nothing left, I finally regained counsciosness fully as I looked around me confused. Without knowing, I had walked into the courtyard and was now stading in the middle of it.

I stared back at the front door and suddenly, something in me snapped. I narrowed my eyes as I finally felt that old determinedness flood back in me, filling my vains.

"I came here for answers, and I'm not going back empty handed" I whispered to myself as I confidently walked up the porch steps.

I placed my hand on the front door and went to push but then remembered that this place wasn't abandoned anymore.

It was a residence. Jack Brewer's residence and of course the door wouldn't be open.

"Dammit" I swore under my breath as I sighed and looked around for a window or some other kind of place where I could enter from.

_**'You mean break in. Need I remind you Kimmy, you're about to break into someone's house. This place is deserted anymore, someone lives here!'**_

_'Didn't I just tell you to fuck off?!"_

_**'Hurtful'**_

I rolled her eyes at...myself. I knew I was going crazy by now, and my constant arguments with my own concience were just farther proof.

My eyes set on a fairly large window on the far left side of the house and to my luck, it was only 4 five from the ground.

Smirking, I made my way to it and was a little surprised in finding it open.

_'Weird. Doesn't this guy know there could be non-good intentioned people around?'_

_**'Like you?'**_

Chosing to completely ignore the comment this time, I opened the window and hoisted myself up and then finally set my feet on the house grounds.

After so long.

What I saw before me though put me off greatly. Last time I was in there, dust was everywhere and almost every thing was covered in worn out, moldy blankets. Various furniture was scattered everywhere carelessly and I remembered there was even a canopy bed.

Now, the whole scenario was upside down.

As I walked around the giant and large living room, I saw couches and single chairs neatly put in their places. Dust or any other kind of decadiment was nowhere to be seen as the place looked like a modern living room now. A huge flat screen tv was hung on the wall opposite the front door and three couches were positioned in a square shape, the fourth side being open since it had the tv on the wall. An elegant glass coffee table was in the middle of the square with a flower vase in the center. Actually, vases like that were everywhere. In the corners on the room and even one in the center of the dining table. On the walls hung the same pictures from seven years ago though the glass was spotless and shiny. The walls were painted a warm orange colour, which gave the whole place an even friendlier aura

The bed was obviously moved upstairs, as this was no right place for it.

_'Wow, Jack sure did some good work to this place'_

After recovering from my state of shock, I now began looking around warily, as if something would jump out at me out of nowhere.

Not finding anything in the living room, I made a right turn and found myself in a kitchen. Although I didn't remember being in this room, I could still tell that great change was made even here.

The counter was spotless and new utensils adorned the room.

All in all, the mansion almost looked like a normal residence. Almost.

No matter how beautiful this place looked like, I could never forget the dark secrets that lay in here. Secrets that snatched my best friend away.

Secrets that I would now resolve.

I walked out of the kitchen and went up the staircase and onto the second story.

_'Wonder which room is Jack's?' I_ thought while walking through the same series of rooms connected to eachother. On my right I expected to see that same narrow staircase but all my eyes met was a small door.

Weird, I don't remember there being a door...

Scrunching my eyebrows, I walked closer to it and tried to open it but it wouldn't budge.

Why? Because it was locked.

Okay, this makes no sense. Why would this be locked? And why is there even a door in the first place?

There is no chance that Jack knows the truth about this masion if he's still living here...unless he's some kind of demon that knows what he's dealing with...

I shook my head to get rid of my stupid thoughts as this wasn't the right time. This is serious, if Jack doesn't know anything, then why is there a door here? I mean, if Jack had found a staircase here, wouldn't he have climbed up it? It's impossible that he hasn't been on the third story of _his _masion even once.

So maybe, he did put a door here...but it still makes no sense. Why would he? Like I said before, if he would've gone upstairs, he would've went into that room, if he would've gone in there, he would've seen what me and Jerry did, and if he did, he would've run right out of here without a second thought.

But he's still here, so it's clear he's still in the dark.

I let out a frustrated sigh as I glare at door. Dammit, why now? When I voluntarly want to go up there, why is there an obstacle like this?! Trouble comes my way but it disappears when I try to go his way

I quietly groan as I run my fingers through my hair. Why the hell is there a door here?! But maybe...

"Alakazam!" Nothing.

"Abracadabra!" Still nothing.

"Salimsagrim!" '_**Are you out of your mind?'**_

'_Yes...'_

'**_...at least we agree on something'_**

Okay, so it isn't working...what to do, what to do...

_**'How about we get outta here before someone sees us?'**_

_'How about you shut the hell up and let me concentrate? Besides, someone? How many someone can there be here? It's only Jack!'_

_**'Like that is nicer! If he sees us...'**_

_'He'll deal with it. Stop backing away and grow some. I repeat, I'm not a coward anymore'_

I sighed, content to have finally set my concience straight. Now that that was taken care of, I still had to open this damn door.

Seriously people...

When my eyes got tired of glaring at the door, I blinked and began looking around, moving back and forth in search of some other way I could go through. There were no other doors on the right side, at least, not ones that would lead to the next story. On the left side though...

"Ah ah!" I silently cheered when I found a small window about ten feet away. I walked closer to it and frowned. Unlike every other window and furniture I've seen in here so far, this is the first thing I see still covered in a thick layer of dirt and crust. It seemed untouched, like no one even bothered to swipe a hand across the surface...not ever Jack.

I brought my hand up and swiped it across the glass, trying to look through it but one swipe wasn't enough. I had to grind my palm forcefully, in order for the glass to be decently clear.

"Gross" I said as I saw just how dirty my hand was now. It was an awful mixture of grey and black, with some solid dirt here and there. I took out a napkin and cleaned the most I could before looking through the window. Inside obviously, there was a small room, and by the looks of it, also a dumpster.

Guess Jack didn't notice...or didn't care...or didn't _dare. _Who knows?

I gotta get up there, no matter what it takes...think Kim, think...

Break down the window?

_**'Have you lost it?! Jack will hear you!'**_

_'And it's back!'_

_**'Kim don't do th-'**_

Too late. I quickly grabbed a nearby rod I found, looked around me and smashed the metal rod into the glass, making it break into shards. The glass pane was actually quite thin so it didn't take much effort but I don't know about the sound...

Jack couldn't have heard it...well, it depends on which side of the mansion he's in.

I shook my head, getting rid of useless thoughts. Something you already know about me, when Kim Crawford steps into something, backing down isn't an option anymore.

I slipped through the window and looked around, trying to find a staircase but all I see are chairs and tables massed togheter.

Suddenly though, a ladder leaning on the wall catches my eye and so, I walk towards it

Looking up, I see a manhole to go up.

Bingo.

Smirking, I climb up the ladder and open up the manhole, finally being on the third story. But when I llok around, I find myslef into another clustrated room. I groan as I pull myself up and start looking for a door to get out. Finding it, and also finding it open, I finally stand in the hallway. This time, I didn't have to use my bobby pin to pick a lock, cause the big one with the red string was up the narrow staircase from before

The same hallway where Jerry and I were being chased. To my side, I see the swing chair still there, unmoving. A sudden gust of wind flew, making the chair move and screech terribly.

Talk about the perfect horror story. _My_ horror story.

Tearing my eyes away from the chair, my gaze shifts on the opposite side of the courtyard...where that fatal door is. I took no time to run towards it, but once I was in front of it, I suddenly froze.

Staring at the big lock with the red rope got me thinking.

Did I really want to do this? Did I have the _courage _to? Knowing perfectly well the consequences?

But then again...this time I have nothing else to lose. My best friend has already been ripped away from me so there's no point in backing down now, right?

And so, I take in a deep breath and reach my hands out to the lock, I pull out a bobby pin from my hair and jiggle around a bit until I hear a 'click'. I quickly get rid of the lock and duck down the rope, entering once again, in the depths of this damned mansion.

**And here you go! Hope this was Worth the wait! Again, the next chapter won't take as long :)**

**Thanks and until next time,**

**-Alex**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hello people! Back again! **

**This time, with something so overdue. I'm so sorry for not updating this story for so long but I'm back now and it won't happen again!**

**Life just got in the way and as you can see, I just recently started writing again. Before posting or updating anything more though, it felt right to come back with this as it was my very first story.**

**I really hope people are still interested though because things are about to get real just now. **

**Again, I apologize and promise it won't happen again. Hoping people are still on with this, I hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kickin'it.**

* * *

Jack couldn't understand what was going on.

He had just woken up with a start, trying to shake out of the crashing filled dream he had just been having and realized his throat was dry. He reached out onto his bedside table but When his friends grasped nothing, he swore under his breath and got out of bed to go to the kitchen.

Out of the covers, Jack shivered as the cool air hit his bare chest. He sighed and run a hand through his messy hair. He rubbed a bit of sleep out of his eyes and grumbled something about getting right back to bed after getting some water.

He blindly walked to the door and opened the door, not wanting to turn on the lights as that would just totally make his sleep go away.

Closing the door behind him, he went off down the hall and in the general direction of the kitchen. The moonlight streaming in from the windows was enough light for him to see in.

Jak shivered again as another chill went up his spine and looked around himself. Sure, the mansion was amazing, but he couldn't help but admit that he did find it...eerie in a sort of way.

He remembered his first night in here where he would just lie awake on his bed, eyes wide and refusing to close as it felt like there was something holding him from slipping away.

Slowly though, he managed to grow out of it and got used to it. But honestly, he avoided having to walk around the mansion at night. He still didn't know why he was acting that way but couldn't shake off an uncomfortable feeling.

What was there to fear anyway? It was just a house. Only he lived there. Maybe that's why he was paranoid.

Shaking his head at the newly risen problem, he walked through the gigantic living room and went on the other side to the kitchen.

He opened the fridge and grabbed a water bottle, taking the cap off and directly gulping it down. While drinking, he walked over to the doorway and leaned against it, admiring the flawless job he did in putting this place back together.

It took him a lot of time and tough work as he was alone but with loads of will power and determination of a Brewer, he did it and couldn't be more satisfied with the outcome.

He walked in the middle of the living room and his eyes roamed the entire place, finally wandering even on the upper story. His eyes glided over the four hallways that lined the living room from above and coming to a ceratin window, he suddenly shocked on his water.

_'What the heck?!'_

Trying to breath normally again and coughing like mad, Jack snapped his head back towards that window and saw that he hadn't been dreaming it.

He raced up the nearest staircase and rushed over to the window and once he was directly in front of it, all the colour left his face.

His eyes widened and his jaw dropped to the floor as he stared dumbstruck at the broken window, shards of glass littering the floor.

So that crash had _not _been a dream! Someone had really broken in!

"But...but that's impossible" Jack muttered to himself, furiously running a hand through his hair.

He looked around himself and his eyes landed on the metal rod leaning against the wall only a few feet away.

Whoever broke the glass, must have used that.

Slowly, rage began filling Jack to the brim as he couldn't believe what the others would drop to just to make him leave.

Sending him hateful looks? That's okay but breaking into his own house? Well that's just war.

Furious, Jack franatically looked around and realized that it was the very same door that gave him odd vibes. The only door he didn't have a key to.

The same door that gave him a mild jolt every time he walked by. It was like something was on the other side, just lurking in the darkness.

_"To hell with it' _Throwing all precautions to the winds, he simply jumped carefully over the broken window and landed on the other side.

Jack looked around but nothing seemed to be moving. He couldn't see what a burglar would want from this clustered room, the only one in the house he couldn't clean...well this one and the pretty much the whole story above.

As Jack was looking up and down, his eyes landed on the trapdoor just in the middle of the ceiling and his heart began beating just a bit faster.

Maybe, the burglar did offer some help in a way...he was finally about to go up into the third story of this mansion.

Quickly climbing the up the ladder, he opened the trapdoor and taking a deep breath, climbed through it.

As soon as he was on his feet and had dusted off, he looked up and found himself in yet another dirty clustered room. He huffed impatiently before realizing that the door was open.

Feeling a rush of excitement, Jack ran towards the door and out of the room. As soon as he was out, he stopped abruptly and began looking around himself franatically.

He was in a hallway and he was in shock. He didn't know why but he felt like he couldn't move all of a sudden. What he was seeing gave him major chills and repetitive shocks like nothing else had ever done before.

As if in a sudden trance, his eyes dropped a bit as a wave of dizziness washed over him. He looked across the open space that was in between the four hallways that lined the courtyard from three stories up and he instantly spotted wodden double doors with two pieces of broken rope hanging on either side.

He may have just found the door to hell.

* * *

Kim drew in a shaky harsh breath as she finally tore the doors open.

Her arms wide still holding the knobs to the now open doors, she stood there frozen. Her eyes drank in what they could see at first sight and she gulped down hard.

She willed herself to move forward but her feet were like firmly planted on the spot.

What was wrong with her? She was here at last and only a step away from finding some answers, yet she's still standing here unmoving like an idiot.

Her conscience screamed at her to do something and she shut her eyes, having an internal battle with herself.

She really couldn't understand what was going on. She had been so sure, she could not back out now.

She reopened her eyes and let her arms drop to her sides. An image of Jerry flashed before her eyes and suddenly, her feet seemed to be moving on their own accord.

She fully stepped into the room now and eyes travelled from the floor to the ceiling. She yelled back and held out her arms, gripping the doors again. Her back hit the now closed doors as she had fully barricaded herself in.

If she was crazy, she didn't know but it didn't matter now. She just hoped that this numb sensation and kind of stupidity-driven bust of courage would last long enough for her to find something.

What was the worst that could happen? Lose herself?

**_'Ha, that happened a long time ago' _**She sighed.

_'Ready or not, here I come'_

Walking farther into the room, Kim got vivid images of how it had been that night with Jerry. Nothing seemed to have changed. The more than ever dusty furniture, the moth eaten sheets and mold covered everything.

Every single thing was still there. What was different though was an unusual chill in the air.

Kim shivered and rubbed her arms as she got sudden goosebumps. It felt like the more she walked forward, the more anticipation built in. It was like she internally knew that she would be walking in on something soon.

She crossed the room and arrived at the doorway that led right into the other. Finding herself in a spatious place, she realized that it was the room with the portraits.

Her eyes scanned the walls quickly and she saw once again all the painting of ancient kings.

And right in the middle of it all, was _her._

A life sized painting of a dancing Indian woman with wide cheery eyes and a gigantic smile on her lips.

Wide motionless and lifeless eyes seemed to be staring right into her soul and Kim felt something weird in her chest.

It felt like those eyes were scanning her, were looking right through her and Kim didn't know by but she suddenly felt like breaking down.

She didn't know whether it was fear of what but that face shook her. It was creepy, really creepy and she couldn't do anything to look away.

Kim began shaking all over, slowly losing control of herself and wanting to just leave and crawl into a dark hole.

She clenched and unclenched her hands and struggled to look away from the damn painting.

"Aaaahhh!" Her eyes closed shut and she franatically shook her head. She had done it.

She had been able to break free from those invisible binds that were starting to cling around her.

Her eyes opened again and this time, she made sure to be facing her side. She quickly moved away from the middle of the room and ran over to the wall on her right side.

Approaching the wall, she let out a deep breath and finally looked up.

Her entire body froze. Her eyes widened and her mouth hung open in pure shock.

No, she didn't feel like was being possessed or something like she was before.

No, it was worse. She felt like she was suffocating. Like she was dying.

Her eyes moved from side to side of the portrait in front of her and she just _refused _to believe in what she was seeing.

Cocoa brown eyes stared back at her from the canvas, a handsome young face that could have made anyone fall hard.

Shaggy brown hair framed his face as the man in the portrait insistently stared at Kim from his permanent sitting position on a fine elegant chair.

His lips were twitched up into an easy smile, a smile that reached his eyes.

Those eyes...

"No" Kim's voice trembled.

"No no no no no!" She gripped her head in both of her hands and clutched at her hair.

"AAAAAAHHHHH!" And she screamed. She screamed and screamed in a fruitless attempt to erase what she had just seen from her mind.

But it was no use. The picture seemed to be etched permanently in her brain just like it was on the canvas.

The picture of Jack Brewer.

* * *

Blurry. His vision was blurry.

He wasn't in himself anymore. He felt like he was floating with every step he took. What was this? What was happening to him?

He vaguely registered the fact that he had started walking. His feet moved on their own and he was mildly surprised that he still hadn't run into anything since he couldn't see straight.

Jack tried to regain control of his fuzzy brain and shook his head. He shut his eyes hoping the sudden moisture would go away.

A scream. He swore he heard a scream.

Who was that? What the _heck _was happening?

His eyes shot open and he gripped his head hard, "What is wrong with me?"

Ever since he stepped foot onto this story he felt like he was getting electrocuted every second he spent there. It was like someone was watching him but he couldn't see them.

He felt that someone was _there _with him and was causing him to feel like this way.

He wanted out. He couldn't do it anymore. He was losing head.

And why was he hearing that _damn tinkling sound now?_

_*tinkle* *tinkle* *tinkle*_

Jack felt like his head was about to explode. He distractedly looked around but found the place empty except for himself.

The tinkling echoed distantly in his ears, like it was coming from somewhere far, far away.

His breathing ragged and he clutched at his head even harder. Suddenly, it was hard to keep his eyes open.

His eye lids began dropping and every time they shut down for even a fraction of a second, he swore he saw someone flash before his eyes.

"AAAARRRHH!" He couldn't take it anymore. His head was pounding and spinning and for no reason at all.

He was going crazy, he was hearing and seeing things. He had to be still dreaming and in his bed.

Maybe he had never woken up for water after all and this was just an unexpected twist in his already wierd dream where someone kept screaming.

"AAAAHHHHH!" That scream wasn't his own. Someone really was there with him. The burglar was still there.

Jack fought hard against the invisible binds that seemed to be constricting him and with another shout, wheeled around on his heels and began mindlessly walking.

He kept walking and walking while continuously turning over on his heels so that he was walking straight and backwards from time to time.

He kept his hands woven in his hair to try and soothe the deadly headache and just tried ignoring yet another sound that seemed to be coming from behind him.

He kept on walking. He knew he was going backwards and that he should be watching out but his world was crashing before his very eyes.

Couldn't he just die at this point and be over with it?

His body hit something. Hard. A shout escaped his mouth as another one was heard too and soon, he was face to face with someone.

Someone who was a girl and had a long blonde curtain of hair framing her face.

Jack blinked repeatedly and his eyes briefly came into focus. His mind stopped spinning for a few moments and he was able to think properly again.

His eyes slowly came into focus too and suddenly, he found himself staring at the one person who he least expected to see.

It was Blondie.

"What-?" His sentence hovered in the air as he never got to finish it. The girl's eyes, which had already been very dilated, grew even larger if possible and she was once again full out screaming.

"AAHHH!" Jack seemed to have completely shaken out of his haze as he could see what wasn't going on perfectly.

The blonde girl looked terrified. Her wide doe brown eyes that he had found very captivating earlier during the day were filled to the brim with fear.

Glossy eyes stared back at him with a haunted gaze that sent chills down his spine.

So she was the one who he had heard scream? He wasn't dreaming?

"What are you-?"

"NO!"

"Listen I'm just trying to-"

"NO!" The girl pushed him back hard. He stumbled back, shocked at the sudden physical gesture.

"Don't come near me! Leave me alone!" To him, the girl was kept shouting nonsense. What had he done? If anything, he should be the one mad because she had broken into his house.

But thing was, the girl wasn't mad. She was terrified.

Jack observed her. She was panting, drawing in every breath like it hurt and her eyes were glossed over. She kept him still with her unwavering gaze and he couldn't mistake the look in them for anything.

Why the hell was she afraid?

Her body began shaking wildly. Her lips trembled dangerously and Jack was sure she was about to break down. But something didn't seem right.

The light was slowly leaving her eyes and all of a sudden, just as quick as the shaking had started, her body began stumbling.

Jack could see her going limp and he instantly reached out to steady her. She didn't fight him as he knew she didn't have the strength.

What was happening to her?

The girl lost the last ounce of strength she had left and she was now dragging him to the ground too.

He held her against his chest as they stared into eachother's eyes. Jack saw himself reflected into her wide watery eyes as she looked at him blankly.

"Y-you..." The girl looked very close to passing out and Jack was freaking out. Was could he do?!

"Hey, hey! Calm down, breath. I-I'm here-"

"You're supposed to be dead" was the last thing that slipped from her lips before her eyes rolled to the back of her head and her lids fluttered close.

And Jack was left in shock again.

Dead? He was _supposed_ to be dead?

"Who are you?" Jack couldn't even find it in him to be anymore shocked than he already was.

There he was, with an unconscious girl in his arms that he still didn't even know the name of.

A girl that he had met only a few days ago and that he hadn't had the best of encounters with..

The same girl that now lay in his arms, unconscious to the world and him.

Jack gingerly picked her light body up from the ground and adjusted her in his arms. His eyes never left her face that now seemed so deadly relaxed.

No sign of recent struggle lined her angelic features as she seemed to be immersed in a deep slumber.

He kept walking on, not even knowing where he was going when he finally looked up.

He stopped in his tracks.

He felt like he couldn't move his feet anymore. Wherehad before they had been moving on their own accord, now they seemed rooted to the spot.

Jack slowly turned his head to the side and saw the wooden double doors he had fist seen when he had landed on this story. Two ripped pieces of red rope hung from either side and were dangling, almost tauntingly making his eyes follow their movements.

His eyes moved from the ropes to the slight gap in the doors and realized that it was open.

This had to be from where the blonde had come.

Once again, Jack got that funny feeling that filled him whole. He felt like he wasn't himself anymore as he put the girl down gently.

He propped her against the wall but still, the remaining conscious part of him made sure that she wouldn't fall over.

He then straightned up and approached the door. He was literally two feet away from it and he didn't seem to be able to pry his eyes off the doors.

_'Come...come to me'_

A slight breeze wheezed past him and his eyes glazed over again. Something in there was luring him in, was making him giddy to go in there.

He felt like in there he would find something, someone that he lost so long ago.

And so, he took a step forward and reached out a hand. As soon as he came to touch the handle though, his whole world turned upside down.

His eyes snapped open to their full extent and he gasped loudly. He yelled out to anyone who would listen as pain shot through him, starting from his fingers and spreading into his whole body.

Hsi head started pounding and spinning on a whole new other level as he stared seeing things agai.

This time though, the images were very clear.

Two long black braids whipped around in front of his eyes as a cheery face came into view too.

Between visions, he distinguished the wide smile on a woman's face, her eyes lined with black eyeliner and a red dot right in the middle of her forehead

High pitched, giddy laughter echoed distantly in his ears as did that same tinkling sound again.

Then again, he found himself in a huge room packed with people and a sole dancing figure in the middle.

Her tinkling filled the whole room as she went about dancing and eyes laughed everytime she looked his way.

And then, the very last thing he saw was the flashing of a silver blade, slicing through the air and apparently him as the woman's laughter morphed into a deadly scream.

And with that, he went down to the ground too.

* * *

**And there you go! This chapter was a big time filler and if you are rusty on a few facts, I suggest going back to previous chapters to refresh a bit since it has been so long. **

**Thank you for reading and don't forget to review! **

**Until next time,**

**-Alex**


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